


Darkest Hour

by Enula, mogitz



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Human Hannah, Jam, Josh Lives, Josh Survives, Porn with Feelings, Post-Game(s), Pre-Game(s), Retelling, Romance, Slow Burn, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, bathing bird - Freeform, endless suffering, jossam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-08-27 07:21:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 46,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8392390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enula/pseuds/Enula, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mogitz/pseuds/mogitz
Summary: "Those eyes.Deep, dark irises that matched his own - ones that he had been sure were gone from this world forever. She stared back at him nervously, her eyebrows slanted and low, her face dirty and flushed but still undeniably her.'Hannah,' he mouthed, but the sound never escaped his lips."It's been one year since the disappearance of the Washington sisters, and the remaining friends are shocked to find Hannah alive. But just because you survive the mountain, doesn't mean you leave unscathed. Before, during, and after the events of that night leave the friends reeling, trying to figure out if getting everything they thought they wanted is even what they want anymore.





	1. Unraveling

**Author's Note:**

> Genre: Drama/Romance
> 
> Timeline: Post-Game Events
> 
> Survivors: Josh, Sam, Emily, Ashley, Chris, Mike, +Hannah
> 
> Pairings: [Josh/Sam][Mike/Hannah]
> 
> Rating: T (Cursing, sexuality, adult themes)

_**Chapter 1:  
** _ _Unraveling_

* * *

 

_**Josh - The Lodge - 1:00 am** _

The mask had that new rubber smell that reminded him of walking into a Halloween store. Coincidentally this made sense since he ordered it from an online Halloween vendor. The name given to the mask was "Broken Psycho Clown." It sounded like the biggest oxymoron he'd ever heard so there was no way he could pass it up.

It was hard to breathe in that thing, but it was better than sniffing all the blood that covered him. It was even on his face - who would have thought the pig's blood he poured inside that dummy would _fly_ so goddamn far? And he could feel it gluing itself to the rubber. Maybe the mask was already trying to become a part of him?

Passing a hallway mirror, Josh paused to admire himself. The mask, the overalls, the _blood_ …it was all just so _perfect_ for him that he almost wished it could be more than just a prank. But it _was_ more than just a prank - it was revenge at its finest. He couldn't _wait_ to see everyone's shocked (and horrified) faces when he revealed himself as the boogeyman behind it all.

Maybe then they'd take his grief a little more seriously. They _had_ to.

He turned his head toward the bathroom when he heard the water stop running. Sam was, as he imagined, now fully submerged in steaming hot water. Surely her fine skin was turning from a pale, milky white to a glowing ember that made his eyes and mouth water. He couldn't _wait_ to see her tears when he showed her the video of him being split in two. Then who would feel guilty about breaking their connection?

His boots hitting the floor were like a heavy but dying heart. The closer he got to the bathroom door, the stronger he could smell the blood caked on his face beneath the mask. He grinned in excitement. _This was gonna be way too much fun_ (if there even was such a thing).

As Josh turned the door handle with his thick gloves, he realized that maybe he should have opted for bare-handedness. He would be able to _feel_ things more. Like the steam in the air when he cracked the door open. Taking off the lock prior made it so much easier.

Sam had candles lit everywhere - such a _girl._ He figured she would use them—that’s why he made sure to have plenty on hand for her. It created the perfect atmosphere to scare the shit out of her.

But at that moment, she was in her own little world listening to music. Her eyes were closed as her fingers patted gently at the top of the water. He figured she was imagining creating the music in that fucking gorgeous head of hers.

He stepped closer - didn't Sam have that sensation in her mind that triggered when she was being watched? Because he might as well have jumped in the bath with her at this point—not that that sounded like a bad idea. It sounded too damn perfect actually and he wondered if she would let him join her after he successfully gave her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Her backpack with all her clothes in it was sitting on a chair against the wall. He instantly rethought his course of action. Sure, he could scare her now when she was naked and vulnerable. _Or_ he could give her a fighting chance—a chance to _fucking prove herself_ to her maniacal serial killer wannabe that she was more than just a flawless face and smoking body. Oh _GOD_ the thought of her running around, combating in nothing but a towel…

Josh sniffed in the rubber and blood. He needed to calm himself; he had a job to do.

He grabbed her backpack and pulled his arms through the straps. Now he felt like a broken psycho clown going to school. But whatever. He stepped back toward the door; slamming it behind him to finally get her goddamned attention.

_Come find me, Sammy. I'll be waiting._

* * *

_**Mike - The Sanitarium 1:00 am** _

Mike still couldn't believe he fell for that fucking trap - and now two little piggies would never cry ' _wee-wee-wee_ ' all the way home.  
He grumbled under his breath as he tried to think of something - _anything_ \- other than the searing pain in his poorly wrapped hand.

_Jessica._

That's why he was here - in hot pursuit of her killer. He still couldn't believe that, either. She was _dead_. There was no question about it, she damn well had her jaw ripped off… he could see her fucking molars, for crying out loud. He had to find out who this guy was.

Mike entered the chapel once the strange man had left. _Before_ he would have considered rushing the guy, but after seeing what he did to Jess and losing some fingers he figured rummaging through his stuff would suffice for now.

There was a makeshift living room in the middle of the chapel - extension cords, lighting, an old television. He was surprised that anyone even knew this place existed let alone that someone was full-on living here. He wondered if the Washingtons knew about this place.

Mike heard a rustle and it damn-near gave him a heart attack. Against his better judgement he called out into the darkness.

" _Hello?"_ But there was no answer

He picked up the pace, trying to get an identification to take back to the police but coming up cold. He did, however, find a musty, old army jacket that proved to be much warmer than his white undershirt.

He also found a gun. _Jackpot._

Suddenly, behind the bars of a gated alcove, Mike saw something stir. He froze in place, wondering for a moment if it was the strange man he'd been following. He hoped that he wasn't about to get caught snooping around his… he almost thought to call it a 'lair', as though he were some secret supervillain. Mike went to shake the silly thought away but after remembering Jessica's cold, lifeless body, devoid of a jaw and eyes that stared skyward at nothing, he wasn't so sure.

He assumed his mind was just playing tricks on him after everything he'd already been through. And without further movement from the darkened corner, Mike carried on, looking for a way out of this huge chapel.

Then he heard another rustling. He gasped, turning swiftly towards… what was that even? A cell? There was definitely someone in there. Mike lifted his torch to illuminate the small room, nearing the cold, steel bars, his eyes squinting in the darkness to make out shadow that seemed to be following him, watching him.

"Hello?" He asked again. His voice cracked a bit and he regretted the fact that it might have made him seem like he was scared… which he _wasn't_. At least he didn't want to _appear_ that way. He swallowed as he took another step, jumping at the sound of a bottle getting kicked over by his boot and rolling towards the metal gated door to the room. As he got closer, a body came into view, heavily coated with multiple layers and masked. He jumped at the sight of it, almost falling back, ' _Jeee-zus_ Christ on a stick," he uttered, trying to get his heart back to beating normally. He noticed the figure continuing to peer at him, tilting it's head calmly, eerily.

"Are you… are you trapped in there?"

The figure didn't move for a moment, and then slowly shook its head.

"Great," Mike mumbled, trying not to let fear manifest on his face. "Do you need help?" Another pause from the figure, then another shake of its head. Mike considered moving on, trying to navigate through the rest of the asylum. Whatever it was, it was behind the gate.  
That was, until it moved towards the door, sliding it open slowly with a loud, metallic screech.

" _O-kay_ … coming out to join me I see. This is... _nice..._ " Mike took a few steps back, searching the room for the closest exit. Since there was none that was overtly obvious, he stared the figure up and down, wondering silently if he could take them down or not. Regardless of the layers, he could tell that the body beneath it was shorter than him, leaner as well. "Look, _flattered,_ but you're not really my type," Mike said with another step back. The figure stopped, pointing to the bloodied piece of cloth that was haphazardly tied over Mike's missing fingers.

"Bear trap," he croaked, holding his hand up, his breath ragged, "was that your handiwork?"

Mike had no idea why he couldn't just shut up, but he figured it had to do with his nerves. The figure nodded, and he almost thought he could make out the faint sound of a laugh from behind the gas mask. It was exactly like the one he'd found in the dilapidated shed with Jessica only an hour or so ago… back when she was alive and blood still pumped through her veins.

Suddenly and swiftly, the figure turned, moving with more speed than before back to the cell, and Mike exhaled a sigh of relief. It was short-lived, as they hurried back, random supplies in their hands. They nodded towards the old couch in the middle of the room, and Mike got a good look at what was in the figure's hands - gauze, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol. Medical supplies.

Mike's eyes trailed back down to his crudely-wrapped hand, realizing that whoever this was, they were offering to bandage him up properly. There was a trail of blood following him, and he felt woozy when he started to think about how much blood he'd lost. He reluctantly and silently agreed, nearing the couch and having a seat.

The figure followed, sitting beside him and reaching its gloved hands out towards Mike's injured one. He jerked it back, but the figure reached onward, grabbing ahold of his hand far too roughly for knowing he was hurt.

' _Ow_!" Mike shouted, his cry of pain echoing off the walls of the large chapel. With its free hand, the figure slowly raised its finger toward the area where it's mouth should be, shaking its head silently again. "Well, don't grab at it so hard," he grumbled.

They unwrapped his cloth, and Mike couldn't look at his wound. He bit onto his good fist, waiting for the sting of the alcohol to sear through him. Sure enough, it did, and it was worse than he had even imaged.

"Fuuuuuck! Fuckshitowo _wow_ …" he whimpered. Mike writhed his body slightly away from the figure, but keeping his hand still so they could get this done with. After a few more moments of pain so acute that Mike thought he might throw up, the figure began to re-wrap him. His face was white, beads of sweat collecting at his hairline as he tried to stay conscious.

The figure reached down, into a small satchel, bringing out a water bottle and handing it to Mike, along with two white pills. Mike could only assume they were pain pills and he took them immediately. He figured if they were actually cyanide pills, at least he'd be put out of his misery. He was ready and willing to take that chance.

Mike finished off the water bottle with a few huge gulps, listening to the cheap plastic crinkle under the suction. Water dribbled down his chin and on his shirt, and he lazily wiped it away before offering a half-hearted nod in the figure's direction, "thanks."

The figure began collecting the supplies back up, and Mike wondered what to do next.

"Who are you?" he asked, but it didn't faze them at all. "How do I get outta here?" Still, no response. Mike ran his good hand through his hair before abruptly standing.

"Great, well, uh, thanks for your help, I'll be seeing myself out then-"

The figure stood beside him, staring up at his face. Mike stood still, breathless as they brought a gloved hand up to his face. For some reason, Mike couldn't move. He tried to see through the dusty eyes of the mask. When he did, he thought there was something oddly familiar about the eyes staring back at him.

"Who… who _are_ you?" He asked again, his voice barely above a whisper at this point. The figure dropped their hand. When their coat shifted, Mike made out the briefest glimmer of something around their neck. He reached forward but they stepped back, out of his grasp.

No, it _couldn't_ be. There's no way. It had been a whole year.

"Can you, uh… can you take off your mask please?" He asked anxiously, but the figure only turned and walked away from him. Mike hurried after, grabbing their arm as they struggled to break free from his grip.

"Take off your mask," he demanded through gritted teeth, growing more and more impatient. When they didn't do as he ordered, he snapped his good hand out and gripped onto the thin, gold chain around their neck, ripping it right off. The figure gasped from behind the mask, reaching back out for it, but Mike held it high above the two of them. He stared at the dangling heart charm on the gold chain as it spun and spun and spun.

He _knew_ this locket.

The figure shrunk as the shocked look of realization washed over Mike's face.

"Where did you get this?" His voice was barely above a whisper. The figure just shook their head, backing away from him slowly. Mike followed, and there were only a few steps before he had the figure pinned against the crumbling wall. His mouth was dry, his heart thumping in his ribs. As he got closer it was as though the figure had given up the fight. Mike took ahold of the mask, slipping it off of their face.

 _Those eyes_.

Deep, dark irises that matched his own - ones that he had been sure were gone from this world forever. She stared back at him nervously, her eyebrows slanted and low, her face dirty and flushed but still undeniably her.

"Hannah," he mouthed, but the sound never escaping his lips.  
She stood a bit taller, her face reconstructing to a more determined expression. She reached up and snatched the locket from his hand, pushing past him and back towards the cell she'd come from. She studied the clasp on the locket - _broken._

Figures.

"Hannah, wait, wh-what happened to you? Everyone's been so worri-" Mike began to ramble. She shot him a dirty look as she began to slip her layers off bit by bit; it was almost as though she didn't recognize him. He grew nearer to her, reaching toward her shoulder but she jerked away from him. Mike swallowed, shaking his head.

"Hannah, it's me. _Mike_." She rolled her eyes, turning back towards him.

"I know who you are, moron," she scoffed, and Mike watched as she began to load a gun with bullets on the table behind them.

"Oh. Well then. Good." Hannah knew that he'd been expecting a much warmer welcome. She turned towards him, seething.

"What, Mike? What did you think would happen? That I'd leap into your arms. ' _Oh, at last. My knight in shining armor has arrived to save me from this dark, horrible place_ ," she expressed melodramatically. Mike brushed her hostility off - there were more pressing matters at the time. He tried desperately to get her to meet his gaze, but she simply refused.

"Hannah, everyone is going to be so happy to know you're okay, that you're _alive_ -" Hannah slammed the clip back into the gun with a loud clack before turning the barrel up and pointing it in Mike's face.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pull this trigger," she commanded, a wildness in her eyes he'd never seen before. She was no longer the sweet, naive girl he once knew, that much was clear. Mike raised his hands in surrender, stammering as he backed away from her slowly.

"Well, I-I mean we tried-" he paused, confusion flashing across his face. "Wait. _What?_ " He finally managed.

"Everyone's going to be happy that I'm _okay_? My sister is _dead_ ," she snapped, gnashing her teeth. Mike felt tears in his eyes when Hannah confirmed what he'd already knew: his best friend was dead.

By some miracle, Hannah was _alive._

But Beth was still dead.

"How did she-" he began, but Hannah didn't even let him finish the question before she laid into him some more.

"I have been held here for the last goddamned year with no other option but to _wait_. Wait for someone to come and find me. Wait for a park ranger to find my clues, discover the truth about what happened to me… and of course-" she began to laugh, but there was really no humor in it, "and of course after months of praying and wishing and hoping... the universe sends me _you_. Michael Munroe… the one who put me here in the first place so tell me, Michael, why I shouldn't end you for destroying my life." Mike licked his lips, his eyes wide with fear.

"Hannah, I am _so_ sor-"

"Oh save it, _Romeo_ ," she growled, dropping the gun from his face. "I don't want your apologies, I want my _life_ back."

"Y-you _can_! Everyone's back at the lodge, I can take you back there," he assured, reaching up to put his hands on her arms but deciding that probably wasn't the best idea. " _W_ e can get you down the mountain and to the hospital, just… let me take you. There's a psycho out there, he was just in here… h-he killed Jess and we gotta get back to the others…He's _dangerous_ , Hannah." Hannah cocked her head to the side, an eerie smile crossing her lips.

"He didn't kill Jess… and he's _not_ dangerous," she assured, her voice strangely calm. "He's the one who keeps the _real_ danger away. He _saved_ me." Mike just stared back at her in confusion. She leaned in slightly and he could see just how much she'd changed in this year. "You have no idea what lives on this mountain. But you're about to find out."

Deep within the belly of the dilapidated building, among the groans and creaks of the aging structure, Mike heard another screech, not unlike the ones he'd encountered in the forest with Jess before they were chased to the cabin. He jumped, but Hannah remained unfazed.

" _Shit_ , what was that?" Mike asked, and Hannah just shook her head.

" _Believe_ me. You don't want to find out."

Another immediate screech reminded Mike it was time to get moving, and he was not leaving without Hannah - not after losing her the first time.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We really need to get out of here and get back to the lodge-" Hannah turned from him, waving a dismissive hand in his general direction.

"We don't go out at night," she replied simply.

" _We?_ Who is _we_?" he asked, but then realized he really didn't care anymore. There was no way he was staying here until daylight. He rounded her and cut her off from the front grabbing onto her arms and giving her a light shake. " _Listen_ to me. Jess is _dead._ We need to get back to the lodge and warn the others. Chris and Josh-"

" _Josh…_ " Hannah suddenly whispered, her eyes softening at the mention of her brother's name, turning from anger to worry and concern. "I-is he down there? Is he alright?" Mike wanted to tell her no, that Josh wasn't alright and hadn't been alright since the day she went missing, Instead he uttered a simple,

"H-he's fine. But we _need_ to go. We need to warn the others-"

"The tunnels," Hannah finally said with determination. "We can't go out at night, but we can at least take the tunnels from the sanitorium to the lodge. They're mostly safe-"

"Mostly?" Mike choked. Hannah gave him a half smirk as she shoved her gun into her waistband and pulled a cylinder tank of some kind onto her back.

"Scared?" she taunted.

"No," Mike scoffed.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you," she assured, but Mike had a hard time gauging the sincerity in her voice. "C'mon," she demanded, hauling off past him and into a corridor. Mike held the gun he'd found in his shaking hand and followed after her, just praying she knew what she was doing.

* * *

_**Josh - The Lodge - 1:15 am** _

He had her right where he wanted her. Who knew getting her to the media room would be so easy? He watched her from the shadows, his hot breath circulating around his mask, making him dizzy with excitement.

Press play.

"Hello, Samantha. Looking for me? I don't think you'll have much luck by looking, Samantha."

 _God,_ he loved the way her name sounded from his voice changer. Did she realize her potential killer was so close to her? So close that he knew her very name, could repeat it to her over and over until she would never be able to listen to another person speak her name without going _insane?!_

_Samantha, Samantha, Samantha, Samantha…_

"You're only going to see what I want you to see."

_Me._

_Fucking see me, Samantha!_ His teeth gritted behind his mask, the grinding, slipping, clacking sound echoing in his hollow cave, his heartbeat racing faster than ever before. _This is what she fucking gets,_ if she didn't want to notice him before, she sure as hell was going to notice him _now._

"And I have quite a lot to show you."

"What...what is going _on?!" she screamed._

"Open your eyes."

_OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES, SAMANTHA!_

The way she looked in that towel with _his_ monogram on it, the way her toned legs never once stopped moving in fear she'd freeze up-

From the side, Josh watched the video of her getting out of the tub as well. He growled deep in his throat, a primal hunger lunging up within him. If only she hadn't been so blind, he could have been running his bare fingers up those legs, teasing her, pleasuring her, making her moan, _not in fear,_ though he had to admit, her tiny bursts of terrified shrieks were making his stomach clench in anticipation.

"She's quite beautiful, isn't she?...a beautiful bathing bird." A bird. A bird that kept flying further and further away from him every time he tried to capture her and all _I fucking wanted to do was love you, Samantha._ "Do you think she has any idea what lies ahead? Do you think these were the last happy moments of this creature's life?"

_I could have made you happy. Forever. But yoooouuuu chose toooo fuuuccckkk with meeeee, silly sillyyyy Samanthaaaaaaa_

"Why are you showing this to me?" Fear was prominent in her tone now. Her fingers gripped her towel tight, no doubt wondering if she was about to be stripped of that simple layer and exposed for everything that she was.

"Why are you watching?"

He knew it was for the same reason he was watching - because she couldn't help herself. Curiosity killed the pussy-cat!

"Josh!" she screams.

 _Ahhhhh,_ the way his name spilled from her lips, such worry, such concern - but was any of it _real?_

"How does it make you feel?" _Tell me, Samantha! Tell me tell me TELL ME!_

Screams, saws, struggles…!

"Oh my God, what did you do?!"

His heart pounded wildly. Now she could see with her own eyes what she let go, what she lost, what she could have had. She could've had it all but no, she chose to play him and play him and play him _well guess what! I'm playing you now._

"I'm going to give you ten seconds... Nine...."

_Be terrified, give up._

"Eight."

_Let me see you break down and scream out your anguish._

"Seven."

_Show some fucking emotion, Samantha. For once in your goddamn life._

He revealed himself to her. No, she couldn't see what was underneath the mask, but that face didn't matter anymore. This was who he was and she had to see that - she had to see what she was responsible for creating.

"Sam? Sa- _aam_."

He cracked his neck. This was going to be _fun._ He was even prepared when she threw that stupid vase at him. He watched her run for her life, his smile stretching his mouth, the dried blood cracking on his face. He swore he never smiled so big in his life.

This was just like the movies. She could run all she wanted - and he would give her that chance. He would walk, take his time. There was no rushing this. He wanted her to always feel the adrenaline he was rewarding her with in this very moment. She would never forget it. _He_ would never forget it.  
What a gift he was giving her! That he was giving all of them! An appreciation for life - one they wasted every. single. day.  
And she went right down to the basement like he anticipated. He imagined her carefully maneuvering that broken step that he warned her about earlier. _Cheat codes, Samantha, cheat codes. Be thankful I love you so goddamn much._

He heard the pitter patter of her feet stop when he reached the basement.

"Sam? Why are you hiding? Saaam? Why prolong the inevitable?" Let's see if he could scare her out. Hell, maybe she'd try to attack him. _OH_ to think of that strong, nimble body jumping on him, the towel slipping to the hard floor. He would gas her instantly, her newly manicured nails trying to dig into him to stop him. It wouldn't work. But of course he'd wrap that towel back around her before he tied her up. He wasn't _that_ much of an asshole.

"Why kid yourself into thinking you can get away? Don't you know I can smell you, Sam?" He clanged the metal to the gas canister over and over. _Ting. Ting. Ting._ He wondered if her heart synchronized with each cold, hard clink, "I can smell your fear." He breathed in deeply. Blood, sweat, and rubber.

_Fear itself._

He turned around. He was tired of waiting for her to show herself. " _Gotcha!"_ And just like a cat in fear, she pounced up and began running again. _Theeeerrree we go._  
But he knew this basement more than she could ever hope to. He rounded a corner and grabbed her, pulling her against him in a tight, loving embrace. Allll he had to do was place that gas mask over her mouth and-

Sam managed to grab the baseball bat, the one she questioned him about earlier. She smashed it against the side of his head. She had him seeing stars and Sam – that little fucking bird – she managed to escape him once again. But he wasn't mad. Nooooo, far from it. He was still smiling. She was still running.

_She's so fucking perfect! Just like he'd known she'd be._

He let her run again. He could tell she was gaining confidence. She was still terrified, but she must have known that she was doing everything right. She was escaping her death. She was saving herself. Something she couldn't do for Beth. Or Hannah. Or him.

_Samanthaaaaa._

He saw blinding red when he remembered all the times he practically begged her to save him and she just kept pushing and pushing him further and further away.

_NO!_

_Wrong!_

She did _so much worse_! She would bring him close, only to stab his heart with a dull knife. She played him like a yo-yo. Then she acted so innocent and oblivious like she had no idea what he felt for her. What a tease. No more. He let her get away for the last time. It was time to reel her in.  
But during his rage, he lost her. He didn't know how, but she managed to escape where she was supposed to go. _She didn't follow the rules!_

"Here kitty, kitty. _Heeerrre_ pussy, pussy."

 _Are you a pussy, Samantha?_ Brave, strong, confident Samantha? Hiding? That wasn't what heroes did. She wasn't going to come out and fight?

" **FUCK!"  
**

He didn't have time for this. If she wanted to hide scared, so be it. He had to get back to Chris and Ashley, those two were probably way past pissing their pants by now. If Samantha was too scared to come out and play, then there was no way she would come out to save Chris and Ashley. She never saved anyone but herself anyway.

_Selfish, selfish Sammy…_

* * *

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Unmasked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. We will try to update this as often as possible, but we are both busy with other projects as well. Please continue to read and show your support, we love you guys!

 

_**Hannah - February 2nd, 2014 - The Mines - Last Year** _

_He was supposed to be the hero, but turned out to be the monster instead._

Tears froze to Hannah's face as she hugged her lifeless sister's body against hers. Beth died as a direct result of Mike's horrible and thoughtless joke. A joke Hannah couldn't understand. Why had he suddenly become so cruel? Was it something she did? Something she said? Or something she didn't?

No… Beth died as a direct result of trying to save _her_.

Hannah's cry of pain got drowned into the dizzying snow blizzard. Without her glasses, the world around her was nothing more than a white blur. She knew her right leg was broken. Any pressure she put on it felt like the most sheer and agonizing pain she'd ever encountered. Hannah had no idea how long she was unconscious for—or how long ago Beth had left this world without her—but the still-dark sky made her believe it had only been about four-to-six hours.

_Josh will come looking for us. Sam will sober him up and they'll find us…_

As long as she didn't freeze to death first. The temperature seemed to be dropping by the minute, and with the wind chill, it felt like it was well below freezing. She wouldn't survive the night if she wasn't found. The thought sent a deeper shudder through her body and she cried into Beth's icicle hair.

She quickly put the blame on herself. It was her fault for trusting Mike and believing that he had any real interest in her. He was dating Emily after all, pretty, popular, and cool. All the things Hannah was not, despite the few times Mike did happen to compliment her that made her start to think she really could be pretty enough for someone as handsome as him.

Emily, who he dated even after he kissed Hannah on New Years.

Maybe her love for him really was only skin deep. He was a beast underneath all that outward perfection, but she swore if she somehow made it out of this alive, that she would deck him right in the face. A broken nose and missing teeth looks flattering on _no one_.

Hannah suddenly sensed another presence—she felt eyes on her and it gave her momentary hope.

_I knew Josh would find me!_

But when she looked up from Beth's hair, there was only a long, sinewy silhouette that stood out from all the snow. Slouched limbs of a creature that should only exist in Creepypasta stories, Hannah opened her mouth to scream as it screeched deafeningly and lunged at her. But then there was hot fire shooting past her, some sparks scorching her icy skin and bringing to life all of her injuries.

She had no idea what was happening, and only clung to Beth tighter, wanting nothing more than the protection from her twin that she always denied before.

The crunching of footsteps became closer to her, but she was too scared to look. If it was one of her _friends,_ they surely would have said something by now. But seconds turned into minutes and she was beginning to think she imagined the whole thing.

Shaking, she glanced up, but only just in time for a stranger to snatch Beth's body from her and began dragging her away.

" _NO!"_ Hannah shrieked, throwing herself forward in an attempt to grab onto her. But as soon as her weight landed on her broken leg, the pain shot directly to her brain and made her collapse. "Beth…please don't take her…" she whispered into the snow, her frostbitten fingers bending, cracking her skin, as she quickly lost consciousness.

* * *

 

_**Sam - The Psycho's Workshop - 3:00 am - February 2nd, 2015** _

Sam's blood boiled. Her teeth clenched. And although she wasn't sure if it was from the coldness of the basement or her jilted nerves, she was shivering

And yet, her face was hot. Wave after wave of nausea kept rolling through her. She'd seen the video, seen him killed, and yet somewhere deep inside she _knew_ that Josh had something to do with this.. _.but how?_

Fucking Josh.

She never would have believed it if she hadn't heard the practice recording herself. That, plus the file, the texts… something wasn't right.

_Prank._

This was all just some kind of sick prank. It _had_ to be. Josh was inventive, but never in her life had she imagined he could take it this far. Or... did he? Nothing was adding up, but it was certainly pointing in his direction.

But, she saw him die. Right?

Sam didn't know what she saw anymore. None of this made any sense.

Out of all of the places to be expelled from those drafty, dirty vents, she seemed to have been cast right into the psycho's lair. All she could keep thinking was that she needed to hurry, needed to get out of there.

She crept along in the dark, cold cellar, fearing what she might stumble across next. Another shrine to the twins? Another set of blueprints for another horrifying contraption? What she found next was even worse.

Sam approached a heavy, wooden door with an open slot to peer though.

Fear paralyzed her as she looked into the adjacent room to see the masked figure manning a control panel. The dark room was dimly lit with various monitors and flashing buttons. He stood at the desk, carefully moving from one panel to another as though he were conducting a symphony. Sam held her breath, silently backing away and praying to not be discovered.

She didn't even care who he was at this point; she didn't feel like being murdered tonight.

She slinked into the safety another room - a storage of some kind. Just like the rest of this part of the basement it was dilapidated. Almost in ruins.

The first thing that drew her attention was a camera, propped up on a tripod. More alarming than that, however, was what the camera was directed at. Sam neared a lone chair to find a terrifying dummy of a corpse… wearing her clothes. It felt like she was punched in the gut and she instantly found herself nauseous once more.

She quickened her pace as she walked to a door that would _hopefully_ lead her away, nearly having a heart attack as fingers reached through a grate and wrapped around her ankle. She stifled a scream, both relieved and confused to see who the hand belonged to.

"Mike!" she exclaimed in a harsh whisper, crouching down to greet him. She couldn't allow herself to forget that danger was literally lurking two doors away. "What are you doing down there?" Sam collected herself, trying to get her thoughts in order. She had to tell him what she found, tell him about… she wasn't even sure what it was, at this point. Or how all the pieces fit together. "Oh Mike, thank God you found me."

"It's okay. You're okay," he whispered back through the opening in the wall. Sam was just so relieved to see his face after everything that had happened. Then, she noticed his bandaged hand.

"Oh my God, your fingers! Mike..!"

"Yeah, and I'm the lucky one…" he mumbled.

"Jesus... What happened?!"

"There's some fucking maniac up here on the mountain. He's- he's trying to kill us all! But listen, Sam, there's more. You are _never_ going to believe this-" Sam didn't have the patience to hear anything else. She had to tell him what she knew about what she'd discovered and get down to Mike before the maniac found her again.

"Wait. This guy who you're talking about? He _attacked_ me, Mike. He showed me these videos, too, and one of them showed Josh being killed... just... ripped apart by this huge fucking sawblade…"

"Jesus Christ," Mike hissed. "What the fuck is going on around here?" Sam could see a shadow lurking behind him, but tears were blurring her eyes having actually said what happened to Josh aloud.

"Is there someone with you?" Sam suddenly whispered, fearing the man in the clown mask had heard them and found his way down to Mike's level. These basement corridors were like a maze.

Mike glanced over his shoulder, ran his injured had through his hair, then glanced around for a way in. He spotted the door.

"Uh… yeah. C'mere. There's a door here, it won't open. Can you unlock it from your side?"

Sam looked over at the wooden door to see her backpack hanging from the doorknob. Quietly but quickly she arose, hoisting the backpack on her shoulder. She unlatched the wooden plank, carefully slipping through the door to find Mike.

"Hey…" he greeted. He looked more apprehensive than before.

"Jeez. You look like hell," she breathed.

"Oh. Nice to see you too." Mike fidgeted nervously as Sam started over to the other side of the room to change out of the towel and into her clothes. "Um, Sam-" Mike began, but Sam shushed him.

"Hold on. I need to change," she whispered, but then she heard her name again.

And it wasn't coming from Mike.

"Sam?"

The familiarity of the voice made Sam freeze. Her chest grew tight, her throat dry. She was too scared to look behind her out of fear that she may have imagined it. She'd already been through so much and she couldn't bear the heartache that would ensue from getting her hopes up, only to find it was just a cruel trick her mind played on her.

"Mike…" Sam practically whimpered.

"Sam… it's me," Hannah croaked from behind a shelf. She was dirty and thin beneath her layers of clothing. Her eyes were darker, her complexion so ashy and pale compared to before, but there was absolutely _no_ mistaking the brunette for her best friend.

"H-Hannah?" Sam's voice cracked, hot tears stinging her eyes. " _Hannah?!_ " She ran to her friend, gripping onto her and instantly breaking into sobs. She knew she should be quiet, but she couldn't stop herself. She pulled from her, her fingers tangled in Hannah's hair, her vision blurred. She couldn't believe it. "Oh my _God, Hannah_! Wh-what _happened_ to you? W-we looked everywhere for you!"

"It's a long story," Hannah said through a shaky voice. There was no time to explain at this moment - it would take too long and there were certainly more pressing matters at hand.

"We thought you were _dead_ -"

" _Sam_ ," she said more evenly now. She held Sam's face between her hands, trying to get the blonde to focus on her. " _Where_ is my brother? Where's Josh?"

Sam's mouth opened but nothing would come out. More tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn't know how to tell Hannah what she'd seen on the cinema screen. How did she tell her best friend, after everything she'd been through and survived, that her brother was dead?

Mike neared the two, his hands gently resting on Sam's shoulders.

"Sam, get changed. We need to get out of here," he ordered, hoping to buy her a little more time before she had to tell Hannah what had happened.

Sam did ask she was asked, still in utter disbelief that Hannah was here. She was alive. Her hands shook and her heart pounded with more adrenaline than ever - even more than being chased by a psychopath only hours ago. Sam finished tying her shoes they they all heard it - the screams.

" _What_ the-" Sam mumbled, searching the air for the source of the screaming.

"Is that coming from-" Mike muttered.

"This way, c'mon," Hannah ordered, charging past the two and out into a corridor. Once they followed, they heard the screaming even louder, and it seemed to be coming from a huge, heavy metal door. The three of them shoved it open, and stepped into whatever fresh Hell awaited them.

* * *

 

_**Josh - The Basement 3:11 am - February 2nd, 2015** _

Josh sauntered menacingly toward Ashley and Chris - the lovely couple still trapped to their chairs. He really should have found a way to make it a flip table. Candles, flowers, fancy-schmancy silverware and wine glasses could have been on the other side, only revealing themselves _after_ the little game.

_DING, DING, DING! This is your prize, guys! Enjoy your first dinner as a couple!  
_

Chris fired three shots at him. Didn't he realize the gun wasn't loaded when he put the fucking barrel to his temple? Did he really feel like he was worth so little that he chose to kill himself to save Ashley?

"Oh, Chris...Oh Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris…"

He played the game right though. He saved Ashley.

_Twice._

Proved to her that he would save her in any situation. Her knight in shining armor. _You're welcome, Chris._

"What the fuck?" Chris said in complete confusion. _Keep up, Chris._

"Oh, you've heard of blanks before. I mean... _really?_ "

_This is my moment!_

He took the mask off, a smug look on his face knowing that no one would have _ever_ guessed it was him. He tricked them! He won.

"Josh!" Chris yelled, his eyes wide with momentary disbelief.  
Josh began laughing.

"Josh!" Sam this time. Where did _she_ come from? That scared little bunny had scampered off into the basement and made herself scarce for hours. _Well played, Sammy-cakes._ Here she came to save the day!

No matter, it was perfect timing that she would show up at this exact moment. Reveal himself to _everyone_ \- see all their surprised faces at once. But he didn't expect her to walk up to him with narrowed eyes, curiosity, confusion, disbelief…. _relief_?

"Josh, you're...you're _alive?_ " She barely whispered the last word, as though saying it loudly would jinx it.  
He only smirked down at her, laughter still contagious within him. He really fooled her! He really, really, _reallyreallyreally_ fooled her! _Sammy's not so smart, afterall. Poooor, poor little Sam._

"Josh…" Mike started, but he didn't seem as surprised. Ahhh, that Mike! He wasn't supposed to be involved in _this_ part of the game… _no nonono. He_ was supposed to be up at the guest cabin bangin' one out with Jessica while the cameras rolled. You know, capturing them at their most vulnerable so he could post it online and humiliate them both. It was _foolproof!_

What was he even doing here?  
"Josh…?" Another girl's voice.

He tried to process it, but it wouldn't compute. It was familiar… but...

Not Sam's. Not Ashley, not Emily, not Jessica, but-

He stopped laughing abruptly, his eyes focused on the dark-haired girl that looked oh-so-familiar and yet he _knew_ couldn't be more than a part of his mind. It wasn't the first time he'd imagined Hannah. Although, she was usually creepier. Deader. Meaner. And never without Beth.

"Not _you_ again," he spat, waving his hand at the girl that he was _sure_ wasn't really there. "Haven't I told you a million times that you can't tell me what to do!?" He turned away from that mystery air, focusing back on his main subjects. Damnit, he had a speech ready for this moment and everything and she was _ruining it._

"Every one of you, you got my name! And after all you've been through. Good-good-good-good-good!"

Josh grinned wider, watching as Sam and Mike untied the happy couple. _OH,_ they're gonna be inseparable after this! They'll never want to let each other of their sight now!

"How does it _feel?_ " He pondered aloud, really wishing that image of his dead sister would disappear from his peripheral vision. "Do you enjoy feeling terrorized? Humiliated? I mean - _panicked?!_ " Josh felt his anger rising. Didn't they understand? Didn't they see that all of this was fucking necessary? He snarled, his lip curling, and he felt his monster coming through, "All those emotions my sisters got to feel once a year ago? Only guess what? They didn't get to laugh it off! No! _Nope! Nonononono,_ they're gone!"

They all got quiet and he saw - _he could've_ sworn _he saw_ \- all of them - every last one - turn to his sister, as if she were actually _fucking real_.

"Hannah?!" Ashley exclaimed, rubbing her wrist where the restraints had been. Josh's mouth ran dry as he stared at what he had been _sure_ was a hallucination of Hannah and then back to his friends.

After a long, impending silence, Josh pointed at all of them, laughing again as he wiggled his fingers, "Ooohh, so now you guys think you're getting back at me? You think - you think by staring at nothing that I'll-"

" _Josh?_ " Hannah hummed, nearing him hesitantly. She'd never seen him like this, so detached from reality. Josh's lip quivered, his eyes tearing, but not because his sister was seemingly alive.

No. Because he was actually terrified.

"S- _Saaam_?" he practically whimpered, his hand absently reaching out for the blonde beside him. Instinctively, and even though she was still sick with anger, she let him grasp onto her wrist. Such a big, tough, murderous clown now, huh? He let out a pathetic, " _Sammy-_ "

"I'm here Josh," Sam spoke up, her voice wavering but trying to still seem comforting. "We're all here." A few angry glances in their direction made it clear that the others were less forthcoming in their support.

"Hannah, what happened to you?" Chris asked, puzzled. "We were all out looking for you. For weeks-"

"I was holed up in the sanatorium," she replied curtly. She really, really didn't want to worry about that now, although she knew she'd have to stop dodging their questions eventually.

"For a _whole_ year?" Ashley questioned, and Hannah narrowed her eyes at the redhead's skepticism in her tone.

"Yes, is there a problem with that, Ashley?" She hadn't forgotten her part in the prank. Any of them, for that matter. As far as she was concerned, they all had a hand in what happened to her that fateful night.

"I just, I mean-" Ashley stammered nervously. "I thought the police said they swept that place-"

"Well, they didn't," Hannah said quickly, her eyes burning into them all. She tried to keep the emotion from her voice but failed as she told them, "I was stuck up there and no one ever came looking for me-"

"Stop it!" Josh screamed suddenly, causing them all to jump. He covered his ears with his hands and squeezed his eyes shut. He paced, everyone watching on in bewilderment or horror. "Stop talking to her like she's actually _fucking_ there! _Shutupshutupshut up!_ "

"Josh. _Josh_! Hey, it's okay-" Sam said nurturingly. She hurried over to him, trying to pry his hands from his ears. She glanced sideways at a conflicted, gawking Chris. "A little help here?" she requested through gritted teeth. Chris' eyes shifted between the struggling blonde and a weary Ashley. He swallowed, extending his hand out toward his friend.

"H-hey, man. It's fine. It's gonna be alright-" he tried to soothe. Josh seemed to calm a bit, finally feeling (undeservingly) safe between Chris and Sam. "I promise, everything's gonna be just fine-"

" _Not_ really," Mike snapped, red-faced. "That asshole killed Jessica-"

" _What_ are you _talking_ about?" Hannah seethed, stepping between Mike and Josh.

"I saw her with my own eyes! This guy is a monster!"

Hannah's hands pressed against Mike's chest, shoving him back from her brother.

"You are _mistaken_ , Michael," she growled. "Now back off!" Still, Mike pushed past her, pointing an accusing finger in Josh's direction.

"Your brother is _batshit_ crazy, Hannah! He attacked Sam, he showed her this video of him getting torn apart-"

"He attacked Chris and I! _Twice!_ " Ashley vouched, hysterically.

"I don't know how, but I _know_ he killed Jessica! You're gonna pay, you dick!" Mike shouted, lunging past Hannah. His fist made hard and direct contact with Josh's face, knocking him to the ground almost instantly.

" _Oh my God!"_

" _Mike!"_

He heard various voices call out, but he wasn't sure who they belonged to. Before he could even cradle his aching fist (his only good hand, at that), he felt and heard the crack of Hannah's fist against the bridge of his nose. Blinding pain coursed through him and he crumpled over, moaning.

" _Sonofa_ -" He hissed, peering through his blurring vision at Hannah, who stood over him. "What the fuck! Where'd you learn to punch like that?"

Hannah ignored the question - her year on the mountain had left her full of surprises. She bent down, meeting Mike's unfocused eyes.

"Don't you _ever_ touch my brother again."

* * *

 

_**Hannah - February 3rd, 2014 - The** _ **_Sanitarium_ **

Hannah's eyes slowly fluttered open, every single part of her body feeling heavy and dry. She turned her head, wanting to moan from the pressure and pain she was feeling, but her voice came out cracked. She tried licking her lips, but it only made her cringe. She was able to comprehend that she was lying on a bed with a lot of blankets piled on top of her.

_I've been rescued…_

She heard footsteps on a hard floor. Her voice came out broken, "Josh…I'm so glad you found me…where's Beth…?"

"That girl is dead," came a harsh voice, sympathy lacking from his tone. It certainly wasn't Josh.

Hannah snapped her eyes open and looked toward the voice. She quickly realized she was in a cell; the man on the other side of the bars was staring at her. She couldn't see him very well without her glasses, but she sensed him to be menacing.

"What did you do with my sister?" she croaked out, her throat stinging from the burden of talking.

"I buried her. Down in the mines."

" _What…?"_ Hannah whispered harshly, her eyes closing as a migraine settled in on her. She tried to move her limbs but her body wasn't cooperating. She could feel the dull ache in her right leg and wondered why the pain didn't kill her yet. She swallowed roughly as she prepared her throat for any words, "Please…call for help. I need to get home…"

"No can do," he told her, his thick hands grasping onto the cell bars. "No communications. And ya broke yer leg pretty bad, little missy. I fixed ya up though. Should heal almost normally." Hannah tried to move her leg. When it barely moved, she held up her covers and stared down at the makeshift stint running down the length of her leg. "Yer fingers ended up with some frostbite—what you get for goin' out there with no gloves. Fuckin' teenagers…"

"Please…" she begged again. Terrified tears formed behind her closed eyelids, "My brother is probably so worried…"

"Let me tell ya somethin' about this mountain," the stranger said, his voice low and ominously. "Everyone with half a brain knows ain't nobody gonna survive the night outside, ' _specially_ during a blizzard like we just had. Your brother most certainly thinks yer dead."

_No, he doesn't._ She thought loudly, though she was unable to say the words aloud. She shook her head slowly and heavily from side to side, "I _need_ a doctor!" she said firmly.

"Ain't nothin' no doctor can do down there that I can't do up here-

"P-please," Hannah cried. "My-my father's rich. They can give you whatever you want-"

Hannah jumped at the sound of the strange man rattling the cage, her heart shooting up to her throat. She gripped the blankets tighter to herself, trying not to look at him.

"Money is no good up here. I don't _need_ it."

"I want to go home," Hannah wept into the blankets. She hurt and she was cold, and she had no idea what this man's true intentions with her were. He sighed, taking off his hat and wringing it in his hands. He stared away from her down at the ground, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"I'll get ya all healed up, miss. Then, in exchange for my generosity, you can help me with the wendigos. At least til the snow ends. That'll be about May or June." Hannah thought she was going to be sick. That was too far away. And there was that word again. _Wendigo_. She had no idea what that even meant, but she feared it had something to do with the creature she'd seen in the mines.

The stranger unlocked the cage, pulling it open with a loud, metallic screech. He lurched towards her and handed her a bottle of water, a couple pills. Hannah just recoiled, staring at him nervously. He nudged them at her once more.

"C'mon now, they ain't poison." She slowly reached up to take it from him. He grunted approvingly. "I'll keep you locked in there, for now. Safest place for ya. Believe me, ya don't wanna end up coming face to face with a wendigo, unprepared. That'll be the end of ya." He must have seen the horror on her face, so he added, "Now, don't worry, I'll bring you yer meals, I won't letcha starve-"

Hannah heard his voice drone on and on, but she was blacking out again. The physical and mental exhaustion was keeping her down even though she wanted nothing more than to get up and yell at the stranger for keeping her locked up and not getting her help.

She wished Sam was there with her. Sam was a survivor, she'd know exactly what to do. But no…she was alone and pathetic, and she didn't even have an inkling of a plan to try to escape.

There was no escape.

This was it.

* * *

 

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Uneasy

 

* * *

**_Everyone - The Lodge - 4:21 am - February 2nd, 2015_ **

They all stood in the dark, coldness of the lodge living room. Mike nursed his throbbing eye, still stinging from the punch Hannah had served him down in the basement while the rest of them waited helplessly. They’d barely been there for longer than a few moments when they heard the horrified screams from outside -  _ Emily _ .

“Open the door!!” she shrieked, her fists banging on the glass as she begged them to let her inside. It was Mike who pried it open as Emily fell to the ground inside, crawling and clawing her way in quickly to the safety of the lodge. “Shut the door! Lock it! Board it up-”

“Oh my God, Em!” Ashley said, helping her friend up and leading her towards the couch so she could sit and catch her breath. “What happened?”

“Are you alright? You were screaming bloody murder,” Chris worried.

“I didn’t think I’d make it,” Emily cried.

“You look  _ awful _ -” Sam chimed, but stopped when Emily’s fingernails dug into her arms and Emily stared at her with terror in her eyes.

“There was something after me!” Emily gripped Sam even tighter, trembling from fear and the cold.

“Wait, Em… Where’s Matt?” Mike asked her, but she didn’t answer, just kept rambling on about a monster chasing after her.

“...a-and it was so fast! I have no idea what that thing was but it had sharp teeth a-and  _ claws _ and-”

“W-w-wait, Em, calm down,” Sam assured her friend, smoothing down her hair comfortingly. “It was  _ Josh _ , he was just messing with us-”

“ _ No _ , Sam! You’re not  _ listening _ to me!” Emily snapped, yanking herself away and running her nails through her hair exasperatedly. She placed a hand on her racing heart, trying to calm herself down. 

“What do you mean a  _ monster _ ?” Chris asked skeptically. 

“She  _ means  _ a wendigo,” Hannah finally said, and she almost relished in the way Emily’s jaw dropped and her eyes flickered with recognition when she realized who she was.

“ _ H-Hannah _ ?” Emily breathed. “Wh-...  _ how?” _

“What the hell is a  _ wendigo? _ ” Chris added. Hannah sighed, unzipping her coat.

“Believe me, you don’t want to know,” she mumbled, and everyone jumped a bit when Mike slammed his hand down against the coffee table.

“Damn it, Hannah! Would you  _ quit _ being so cryptic and just tell us what the fuck going on?” he yelled. Hannah’s eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched as she stepped towards Mike. He swallowed, lowering his voice. “If you know what’s going on, just  _ tell _ us.”

“None of you should have come back here,” Hannah warned them, shaking her head. Her eyes swept the room, landing on each of them only briefly as she went on. “There’s a curse on this mountain-”

“ _ What? _ ” Mike scoffed flatly, but shut up when Hannah’s glare intensified.

“You don’t have to believe me,  _ Mike _ ,” she spat. “But you will. I’ve seen them for myself. They  _ are _ monsters - and they’re nearly impossible to kill. They’re thin, but they’re incredibly fast and strong. They can kill you before you even get a chance to run-”

“Yes!” Emily nearly shouted, standing and hurrying over to Hannah’s side. “I-I’ve seen them! One was after me but th-this man… he _ saved _ me-”

“Wait,  _ who _ ?” Hannah said, gripping onto Emily’s arm. “Who saved you? Did he have a flame thrower?”

“Y-yes. He gave me this pack with flares and threw me down into the mines to get away… I don’t know what happened to him, there were so many of them. We were outnumbered-”

“ _ Shit, _ ” Hannah growled, running over to her tank and beginning to strap it back on.

“Hannah, wait, do you know him?” Sam wondered, nearing her quickly when she saw the panic in Hannah’s face. 

“I-I gotta get out of here. I need to get to the mines-”

Everyone froze at the sound of a gut-wrenching shriek from outside, then another, seemingly circling the lodge.

“What the  _ fu- _ ” Mike uttered, only to be shushed instantly by Hannah. She crouched, nearing one of the windows. The soft sounds of everyone’s heavy breathing filled the silence of the lodge, until Josh let out an uncomfortable giggle from the corner of the living room, where Sam had left him. Hannah snapped her fingers at Sam, a way of telling her to shut Josh up, as she crept towards the glass. 

Sam glanced at Josh and exhaled - she didn’t know why it was her who was put on Josh’s watch, but she couldn’t let everyone die just because Josh had no control over himself right now. She knelt beside him, trying to soothe him, when he took ahold on her hand and squeezed it tightly. Sam sucked in a sharp breath, suddenly overcome with emotion as he just stared into her eyes. Deep down, she knew the Josh she cared about was in there - trapped. She scooted down beside him and let him lean his head on her as they watched Hannah assess the situation.

Another cry ripped through the air outside, and Ashley whimpered, gripping onto Chris and hiding her face in the fabric of his coat.

Hannah stood now, nearing the center of the room with determination, “they followed Emily.”

“You  _ led  _ them here?” Mike suddenly shot in Emily’s direction, accusingly.

“Oh, sorry Mike! I was scared for my life, not trying to figure out a way to trick them!” Emily sneered back.

“Enough,” Hannah snapped at both of them. “If they make it in here, we’re in big trouble-”

“Wait,” Chris spoke up, shaking Ashley off of him. “How would they even do that? Aren’t they like an animal or something?”

“More like humans,” Hannah reasoned, before adding, “well… they used to be. If any human gives into cannibalism on this mountain, they will become possessed by the spirit of the wendigo. After that they change.”

“How do we get away from them?” Sam wondered. Hannah shrugged.

“We don’t. We just have to be quiet and hope they don’t get in here,” she told her, zipping her coat. “You guys need to get back down to the basement-”

“W-w-wait now. You guys? Hannah, you’re not going back out there,” Mike ordered, to which Hannah just rolled her eyes.

“You might have been voted class president in high school but you are not in charge here, Mike-”

“Someone has to be,” he countered.

“I  _ am _ !” Hannah seethed.

Suddenly there was a burst of sound, glass shattering on the floor of the lodge, causing Ashley and Chris both to shout out in surprise.

“What the hell was what?” Sam said, her voice hoarse. 

“I think something just got thrown through a window-” Emily deduced.

“Hold on, I’ll check it out,” Mike offered bravely, but had barely made it a few steps into the dining room before he saw that Hannah was right beside him, her hand gripping onto the torch in her hand. They neared the dark, round object on the floor that had just been hurled through the window from outside. Mike’s heart thumped steadily in his chest the closer they got and the more the object began to take shape - it was a head. A human head.

“What the  _ fuck _ !” Mike exclaimed, turning away from it and grabbing onto Hannah’s shoulders to keep her from coming any closer - but he didn’t stop her from seeing what it was.

Tears blurred Hannah’s eyes when she realized what was on the floor in front of them. It wasn’t just any human head.

“Wait,” Hannah said with a sob in her throat, trying to push passed Mike as he held her in place. “Wait, wait… let me go… Mike…” she began to cry, desperately trying to free herself of his hands just to be sure. But she didn’t have to see it to know the truth. The head belonged to the man who’d found her - the man who saved her life a year ago and taught her everything she knew over this last year. 

The stranger who’d never even so much as told her his name.

“We need to get out of here, Hannah. You don’t need to see that,” Mike tried to comfort her, but she finally yanked away from him and nearly fell to the ground right in front of the man’s head, his eyes staring dully right at her. 

“No,” Hannah wept, tears falling down her cheeks. Another scream of a wendigo tore through the lodge, much closer this time. This time when Mike looked outside, he saw exactly what Hannah had been talking about - a long, thin, toothy creature staring back at him.

“Everyone down to the basement!” Mike shouted, grabbing Hannah up by the arm and pulling her away from the dining room. “ _ Now! _ ”

* * *

**_Hannah - The Sanitarium - Early March, 2014 - Last Year_ **

Hannah stared at the etchings on the wall of her prison cell - of course, it wasn’t an actual prison cell, but it sure felt like one at this point. 

She couldn’t remember how long she’d been there now, but by counting her tick marks she was estimating that it was somewhere near a month now. From her small, barred window she could look outside, growing more and more claustrophobic as the days went on and the snow just wouldn’t melt. The strange man had told her that wouldn’t be until June or so, and it left an unsettled knot in her stomach as she thought about everyone out there missing her.

She just wanted to go home.

Hannah glanced down at her leg, which still ached on occasion but seemed like it was mostly healed. She hadn’t been brave enough to put a whole lot of pressure on it again - she wanted nothing more than for it to mend fully so she could make her escape.

Something else she’d realized was that there were no monsters like the man had warned. She’d never actually seen anything down in the mines, and since she’d been held in that hospital, she’d never seen anything there, either. She was beginning to realize that the man who had her locked up was clearly insane and had no intention of letting her go. If she wanted to get out, she was going to have to figure it out on her own.

Hannah’s one sliver of joy in this dreary, new existence was Balto, a husky. He belonged to the man, but had taken quite a liking to Hannah. In the month or so she’d been there, he’d hardly left her side. 

“What’s his name?” Hannah had asked the man one night as she absently smoothed down the dog’s fur. The dog looked up at her as though he knew she was talking about him. The man only grunted.

“No point namin’ ‘im. They don’t last long up here, anyway.” 

Hannah frowned, leaning down to the creature’s ear as she snuggled him, “don’t worry, Balto. I won’t let  _ anything _ happen to you.” He softly licked against her cheek and huffed, closing his eyes to dream of chasing rabbits in the snow. 

It wasn’t long after that that The Stranger finally let her out of her cell. He said her injured leg was now ready to be walked on. 

“You’ll be needin’ t’ gain your strength back if ya hope t’ survive this mount’n.”

As soon as her cell opened, she considered bashing into him and making a run for it. But taking a few steps told her that was a horrible idea. Her leg was practically numb or tingly with a dull ache. And he had guns, flamethrowers, and knives on his side (and a few huskies, even though Hannah hoped they would never attack her).

So she walked past him slowly, eyeing him from the side to make sure he didn’t try anything. She swore that as soon as she was able, she would leave. And take Balto with her. He didn’t deserve to stay in this place anymore than she did. And seeing how he stayed right beside her every step she took, having a concerned expression in his deep eyes (too deep for a dog, but she couldn’t imagine what kind of things the poor animal had been through), she knew that he would follow her when she escaped. 

“Funny how strong th’ human spirit is,” The Stranger commented from behind her, “I see ya lookin’ at me - wishin’ ther’ was a way t’ kill me.”

Hannah didn’t turn around when she answered, “I don’t want to kill anyone. I’m  _ not  _ a killer.”

“Don’t speak so soon, girl!” His voice rose and he stepped in front of her. His beady eyes stared at her with a squint, “Ya don’t yet know what’s waitin’ for ya.”

“You mean like my friends and family?”

He waved her off, “They ain’t waitin’ for ya. Yer dead like that other girl.”

_ “But I’m NOT!” _

“But ya will be!” He got in her face, “This mount’n killed yer sist’r, those monsters -  _ the wendigos.  _ Don’t ya want t’ avenge her? Fig’re out what happened t’ her? Fig’re out a way t’ make it not happ’n again? What will ya do if ya go home now? Mourn? Sulk? Lose tha’ fightin’ spirit of yers? Wish ya coulda done somethin’ to save her? Ya can’t leave an’ let this eat yer soul, ‘cause that’s how ya become something’ oth’r than yer’self.”

Hannah hadn’t noticed, but tears burned her vision before slipping down her cheeks from his speech. He was insane.Something bad had obviously happened to him in the past and now here he was, living out the rest of his days in isolation because he couldn’t bear looking at himself. And maybe he had no one to go home to and thus created a home for himself here.

“You don’t know anything about me,” she whispered harshly before turning away from him to walk slowly in another direction. Her tears made it hard to see. She felt Balto’s fur still beneath her fingertips. 

 

A few more weeks past and Hannah was finally able to walk almost normally. One day as she was wandering around the sanitorium, she took the key that she knew locked her cell. She knew he would notice if it was gone when he put her back in her cell, so she taught the smart huskey which key she was talking about when she made three snaps with her fingers. She kept rubbing it between her palms to get her scent completely on it and let him smell it. 

So when night fell and he locked her in the cell and then left to go hunt these ‘ _ monsters’,  _ leaving Balto with her, she clicked her fingers and Balto went to the key ring that contained the right key and brought it to Hannah. Her hands shook with anxiety as she tried to reach her hands through the bars and unlock the lock. She only dropped it a few times before she heard the glorious  _ click  _ and the separation in her hands. 

“I promise I will get you only the best food and toys when we get home,” Hannah promised Balto as she hugged and loved on him. But only for a moment. They had to leave  _ now. _

Hannah exited the sanitorium with Balto by her side. The winter air hit her hard, and she was once again left to wander the mountain without a jacket. And she ran. She had little sense of where she was, but she just knew she had to get away from there and hope that she found something she recognized to help her in her escape. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t take her long to get tired. Her leg was starting to give out on her and she hardly got any exercise in the last few months. She had to find someplace to stop for the night.

And it wasn’t much longer after that when she came across the cabin. She knew there was matches in there to start a fire. But the smoke might draw The Stranger’s attention...well, at the very least, there were blankets. 

But before she could get close enough to get inside, there was a loud cracking in the woods. Balto began growling and barking. She tried to shush him, thinking it was just The Stranger coming to look for her, but Balto wasn’t stopping.

“Balto, stop,  _ please!”  _

Another loud crack and then a horrifying creature with long limbs made its appearance from behind the trees. Balto barked louder and Hannah’s voice was only caught in her throat for a second before she let out a terrified scream. The monster shrieked as well, it’s sharp teeth prominent when the long, inhuman shaped mouth opened. 

She turned to run, the pain in her leg shooting right up to her spine. She yelped and fell in the snow and then was unable to pull herself back up in her haste. She was panicking but there was no way to calm herself as the creature kept getting closer and closer, moving from tree to tree with unnatural speed. 

Balto’s barks grew hoarse but he kept at it. Hannah tried screaming over him, but it was no use. Her limbs were suddenly like jello and the monster was almost on her. 

Then another sound - a loud woosh - happened behind her, followed by instant heat. It was fire. She laid her face down on her arms in the snow, just wishing the moment was over already. She heard the screech of the creature again, but then it sounded more distant as if it was retreating. 

Balto was still barking.

“Hush now!” It was The Stranger’s voice. Balto stopped.

Hannah was very aware of her deep breaths. She heard footsteps come close to her head. She was almost too embarrassed and scared to look up, but when his gruff voice demanded she get up, she knew she had no choice. She at least owed it to him to listen. He just saved her from certain death.

“Yer lucky I don’t just let that thing tear you limb from limb,” he scolded her, and Hannah knew he was right. He might as well have let her die, and yet, he didn’t. 

Hannah stood, still hanging her head, “I-I want to go home,” her voice quaked. 

“This is yer home now,” was his short response. He grabbed her arm, turning to lead her back towards the direction of the hospital. “It ain’t safe out here and I can’t protect ya if yer gonna run off, ya hear me? The next time ya leave, I don’t come after ya. Let the wendigos decide what to do with ya.”

 

That was the first and last time Hannah tried to escape. 

He might have been crazy, but he was right about those creatures, and she owed him her life not once, but  _ twice _ . She knew if there was any chance of making it home again, she had to play by his rules, at least for now.

Back at the sanitarium, after his initial anger wore off, the man brought her some beans he’d heated up over his small burner. He set it down in front of her, but she didn’t even look at the peace offering, nor did she look at him when he pulled up a seat beside her. Her leg was throbbing from all of the exertion and she just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up.

“Ya miss yer family, dontcha?” Hannah closed her eyes at his words and felt tears continuing to roll down her cheeks. She shook her head, leaning it back against the bars of her cell. “I know how ya feel,” he went on. Hannah said nothing, just listened to the sound of her heart beating in her chest and the old man’s words. 

“I ain’t seen my own in… well, it’s been a long time.”

“What happened to them?” Hannah finally croaked. He just hummed to himself, shaking his head and leaning back in his chair.

“Don’t matter.” Silence settled between the two of them for a moment before Hannah finally reached for the food. The man nodded approvingly, then sighed. “I know ya wanna get outta here. And ya will. But for now, ya gotta trust me.”

“What are those things?” she finally asked, and it was then she learned all about wendigos and how he’d been on that mountain for years and years, doing what he could to keep everyone who ventured out there, safe. It gave her a new understanding, but certainly didn’t make her ache in her chest for home cease.

“Why were ya out in that storm, anyway?”

“My friends…” she began, swallowing down the knot in her throat. “My friends upset me. I ran out to get away from them.”

“And yer sister?” The tears formed again and Hannah’s throat felt like it was on fire.

“She came after me. To protect me.” He grunted, shaking his head again, somberly.

“I’m sorry about yer sister. This mountain has claimed many more than just her, ya know.”

She didn’t. But she was starting to.

“How do we stop it?” Hannah asked plainly. Aside from her grief, she was suddenly overcome with pure rage. 

“Ya mean tha wendigos?”

“How do we kill them?”

“There’s the fire I’ve been lookin’ for,” he sad proudly. He stood, giving a stretch. “I’ll learn ya up good. Yer first lesson starts tomorrow. Make sure ya rest up, now that yer leg is healed.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Dawn,” he reiterated. “We begin at dawn.”

 

* * *

**_Everyone - The Basement - 5:56 am - February 2nd, 2015_ **

Mike twirled the gun around his finger carelessly, his eyes burning into one fixed place on the wall - anything other than meeting Emily’s death-gaze as she sat on the desk across from him with her knees to her chest. He’d just threatened to kill her - something he never imagined doing in his life. But once they’d made it to the safety of the basement they’d noticed that she’d been bitten. 

He was cold, exhausted, and fairly certain his nose was broken, thanks to Hannah.    
Sam looked utterly traumatized by what Josh had done to her, and yet was forced to keep him contained in a bear hug on the ground. His incoherent mumblings were the only sound among the seven friends… if they could even  _ call _ themselves that now. 

Chris had secretly chosen to save Josh over Ashley, something only Josh and Chris knew at the time - he was keeping it from her, hoping that it didn’t slip out among Josh’s hushed but constant whispers. They still didn’t know if Emily’s bite was going to turn, and they certainly didn’t know if they were going to survive the night. 

They only knew three things for sure: Jess was dead. Matt was missing…. And Hannah Washington was very much alive, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and her face somber.

Mike’s eyes met hers, but she was quick to dodge them; they instead fell easily and sympathetically upon her brother. He was rocking back and forth, trying to self-soothe. Sam sat right beside him, trying to keep him from floating too far away. 

Hannah walked towards the both of them, kneeling down in front of her big brother; so many times in their lives he’d taken care of her. He’d help her with science projects, her boy troubles… he was the epitome of a perfect big brother to her, even in spite of all of his shortcomings.

As she knelt before him, extending her hand out towards his face, trying again to prove to him that she was real... she was  _ real _ . 

He still saw her as a monster - the horrible image of her that had haunted him for the last year. He shied away from her touch, turning himself inward towards Sam and holding onto her tightly as he buried his face into the crook of her neck like a terrified child. Hannah’s face fell, and Sam gave her a helpless look.

She offered Hannah an apologetic, “I just… I think he needs a little more time-” 

“And meds,” Mike piped up, and he received two more glares in return. In the distance, they could still hear the ominous, ceaseless screeches of the wendigos out in the night.

“Well, I’m not about to be a sitting duck,” Hannah announced, standing abruptly. She walked with determination back to her coat, beginning to pull the fire tank onto her back.    
“You’re not seriously going back out there?” Chris asked flatly, a terrified Ashley peering from behind him with wide, curious eyes. 

“Listen, I’ve been working on these things for the last year; I’m not leaving this mountain until I finish what I started.”

“Hannah,  _ please _ ,” Sam whispered harshly. 

“Those things aren’t going to give up until they’ve killed us all. They have enough strength to rip a human head clean from its body. I hardly think that our flimsy, basement door is going to keep them out.”

“Fine,  _ get _ yourself killed. It’s not like we haven’t gotten used to the idea for the last year…” Emily spat sarcastically, but the look on everyone’s faces afterwards made her shrink under their gazes. Hannah ignored her, a habit she’d perfected long ago.

“Hannah’s right,” Mike contributed.

“I really don’t need you to agree with me,” Hannah snapped back at him. 

“So you’re saying you need me to disagree?” Mike shot in return, tense sparks flying between the two. He sighed, “Look, I know you hate me. And you can show me just how much when we get outta here, but right now, we need to do this together.”

Hannah fastened the tank and her weapons onto her body, “Did you write that motivational speech in high school, or did you just now come up with it?”

“Hannah,” Sam interrupted; she didn’t want a war to start before they even exited the basement. She stood up, trying her best to ignore Josh desperately reaching for her, “I can’t even  _ imagine  _ what you’ve been through this past year. And doing it all  _ alone. ... _ But, Hann,” Sam reached for her best friend’s hands, squeezing them and looking into her dark eyes, “we’re all here now, so don’t go out there by yourself. Let us help. Tell us what to do.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Emily stepped forward, her hand in the air, “I want to get the fuck out of here more than anyone, but what are we supposed to do about him?” She pointed down to Josh, “If we bring him out, he’s just going to get us killed.”

“I’ll keep him safe,” Chris said, standing next to Josh, “Don’t worry about him slowing you down,  _ Em,  _ I’ll go at his pace and  _ still  _ make it out of here.”

“But Chris, he--,” Ashley started, but quickly stopped when Chris held up a hand. It didn’t go unnoticed to her that he could barely look at her now. 

“He’s my best friend, I’m not just going to abandon him.”

They all fell silent. Hannah looked around at her group - the very people she was closest to a year ago. And now they were all going to have to fight for their lives together. 

She nodded, “All right, here’s the plan…”

* * *

 

 

**_To Be Continued..._ **

  
  
  
  



	4. Unafraid

_**Hannah - 6:30 am - The Lodge** _

They all silently made their way back up the stairs from the basement. The plan was to take the shortcut through to woods back down to the cablecar station. Hannah knew they couldn't leave take the tunnel in case the passages were infested, and she certainly couldn't leave them alone down there in fear they would get cornered with no fire power to protect them. They needed to stick together.

She told them all to move slowly and avoid making any sound. From hearing the crash of the window earlier, she was fairly certain that a wendigo found its way in. If she listened hard enough, she could hear the scratching of nails against wood.

"That's giving me goosebumps…" Ashley said lowly.

" _Don't_ talk," Hannah said with a snap. She stood up straight and slowed her breathing, trying to assess exactly where her group needed to go. At the far end of the hallway, she could also hear the _tick - tick - tick_ of the wallclock as the seconds went by.

"Be vewy, _vewy_ quiet. We're hunting wabbits!" Josh suddenly said in an obnoxiously loud Elmer Fudd impression.

Many of them did their _SSHHH!_ 's while Hannah turned around to glare at Sam, "Shut him _up!_ " She hissed through her teeth.

Sam almost snapped that it wasn't her fault and that she wanted a different assignment in this game, but instead she just slapped her hand over Josh's mouth hard.

Hannah stared at her brother, a sadness clenching her heart at how vacant his eyes were. He had no idea what was going on. He seemed to think all this was in his head. But she couldn't focus on him right now, much as she wanted to. The scratching sounded so close. It seemed more like the scratch of an animal though, not the same pattern as a wendigo.

Then she heard it: the muffled whimper of Balto.

"That's my dog," she whispered, more to herself than the others. But it made her sprint through the main entrance toward the door.

"Hannah!" Mike yelled for her because none of them had any idea if this was part of her plan that she expected them to just know about. She clearly was used to working alone and preferred everyone staying silent, but it definitely was not helping the situation.

Hannah opened the door and Balto ran in, circling Hannah happily as she closed the door again.

"Holy shit, is that a fucking _wolf?!"_ Mike shouted and his loud voice made Balto pause on loving Hannah and raise his ears at Mike. The rest of the group stood behind Mike, but Balto ran right up to him and growled, baring his teeth and bristling the fur on his tail.

Mike clenched his fist, about to follow his instinct and punch the animal in its face. But he stopped himself at the last second. Hannah watched his worried face, smirking just briefly because she knew all she had to do was whistle to get Balto to back down.

"So much for being fucking quiet," Emily said, hating that she was with all of them at that moment. She felt much safer when she wasn't surrounded by a bunch of morons. "And why the hell did you let that thing in, Hannah?"

"He's just a husky," Hannah explained, "And he's _mine_."

"He's a goddamn wolf!" Mike insisted, and yet he felt brave enough to reach his injured hand down to it, watching carefully as its nose wiggled to his scent.

"Actually, he's a Czechoslovakian Wolf Dog," Sam spoke up, but then gasped when Josh licked the palm of her hand, causing her to snatch it away from his mouth.

Josh giggled, "So that's what you taste like."

"So gross…" Emily commented, his lips curling in disgust.

"Czechoslovakian _Wolf,"_ Mike repeated, his heart rate slowing when the wolf began licking his hand, seemingly trying to heal him.

"Wolf _dog_ ," Sam reiterated, to which Mike merely shrugged.

"Wolf. Wolfie. That's what I said. We're basically saying the same thing-"

Hannah couldn't believe her eyes. Balto was making friends with Mike like it was no big deal and he was the one person she wanted Balto to hate more than anyone. Were his instincts not as good as she had hoped?

The moment was broken when a loud piercing shriek came from above them. They all looked up to see not only one, but three wendigos hanging from the beams and chandelier. They were not looking directly down at them, which Hannah was thankful for. It bought them some time, even though she could tell all the others were pissing their pants at the sight of them.

"Nobody move a muscle until I say," Hannah spoke with a tight jaw. Still, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam slowly raise her hand to cover Josh's mouth again. _Good move._ The wendigos moved with inhuman speed from corner to corner of the large room, but it was clear they were not about to leave the area. The could sense them nearby. They were just waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Change of plan. You guys need to get back down to the basement. There's a path that leads to the cablecar station," Hannah explained evenly and calmly, "I will hold them off long enough for you guys to escape."

"I'm _not_ leaving you," Mike insisted, and Hannah wished she had the luxury of smacking him.

"You're useless to me," she gritted her teeth.

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"Guys!" Chris spoke up before it could go on any longer, "How do we find the entrance to the mines?"

"There's a…" Hannah trailed off, realizing it would be hard to explain, "Josh! Josh knows where it is."

"Uh, yeah, in case you didn't notice…" Emily started, her sharp eyes following the wendigos quick movements, "Josh literally just quoted Looney Tunes."

Hannah grumbled, knowing that she had a point, but also knowing that Josh was their best hope at finding the passageway. Slowly, and in between the wendigos glimpsing down at them, Hannah inched her way over to Josh. His eyes were downcast, his mouth still covered by Sam's hand.

"Josh!" She whispered harshly, but his eyes didn't even move. She tried calling his name a few more times before finally clapping her hands loudly in front of his face. At the same time, Josh's eyes snapped directly to hers as the wendigos gave their horrific shrieks. "You _need_ to show everyone how to get to the cablecar station from the basement." She tried to speak as slowly as she could, pronouncing each word as though he was a young child. "Do you understand?"

But he wasn't seeing her. She couldn't be sure he was hearing her. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, "Josh, _please._ You need to save everyone."

_**WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE US, JOSH?!** _

_**WHY DID YOU WANT US TO DIE?!** _

Josh's eyes widened as he listened to his dead sister yell at him for failing her. He began shaking his head, the world around him melting into a boiling pool of blood.

' _You're dead!'_ He muffled loudly behind a hand, the words sounding like nothing but a smothered plea. ' _You're not real!'_

He grabbed his head and stumbled back and his face felt like ice when Sam's hand faded away, "I don't know what happened, I wasn't _there, I DIDN'T DO IT!"_

A wendigo screamed, but no, it was that constant screaming that always kept Josh up at night and he just wished it would stop, stop, stop, " _STOP, pleeeassee stop it!"_

The others screamed around him as a wendigo jumped down from a beam toward them, but then a gunshot rang out when Mike fired a bullet at the creature. Hannah stepped forward and, with a heavy heart, she slapped Josh as hard as she could. It caused Josh to stop screaming, his chest rising and falling heavily, his eyes still a bit vacant.

"Don't...don't hit me, please…" He sounded like a little boy who just got punished by his guardians.

"Josh...do you know how to get to the cablecar station from the basement?" Hannah asked, knowing that if she didn't get through to him this time, they were out of luck and the others would just have to find their own way.

"Uh...um, yeah and I...I have the key," Josh reached into his overalls and pulled out the missing key that ran the cable cars.

"Perfect!" Hannah praised, wrapping her small hands around his large one, folding his fingers back over the key as though it was as precious as holding her heart, "Please get everyone to safety. You need to get out of here _now._ Can you do that for me?"

He paused for only a second before nodding. And she would just have to trust that. Hannah turned to Sam then, "Please. Sam... keep my brother safe. I need to stay behind and distract them if you guys have any hope of escaping."

The wendigos screamed again, making that the cue for the others to leave immediately.

"Wait, what? No, _Hannah_ -" Sam began to object, but when she saw the seriousness in Hannah's eyes she merely nodded, knowing that she shouldn't argue with her. Sam grabbed Josh's arm and turned him toward the stairs, ready to bolt for the basement again.

"Now _go_!" Hannah yelled at all of them, then watched as they sprinted away, the wendigos coming to life at all the sudden movement. Hannah gripped the nozzle of her flamethrower tightly, turning back towards the monsters to assess her situation. Her heart leapt to her throat when she noticed she wasn't alone. One unlikely person had chosen to stay behind: _Mike_.

" _What_ are you _doing_? Get out of here," she hissed through her teeth. He was just going to slow her down. Distract her. And she didn't need his help. She didn't need him to be her hero.

"I'm not just gonna leave you here," he told her lowly, trying his best not to draw attention to their huddled masses near the stairs. As one of the wendigos nearly spotted them anyway, Hannah grabbed a nearby vase and hurled it across the room, trying to get them to follow the movement. It worked.

"Fucking morons," Hannah grumbled, grabbing Mike by the arm roughly and dragging him around a corner so they could figure out their next move. Mike pushed himself up against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Wha, uh… what do you need me to do?" he whispered, but Hannah mostly just looked irritated with his presence.

"Stay out of my way," was her short, hard response. Mike watched as the wendigos scaled the walls, which was something straight out of his darkest nightmares. He'd never seen anything like it, and it made him instantly regret his decision to stay behind.

"Great idea, Mike. Good thinking," Mike mumbled sarcastically under his breath as he watched the wendigos continue to explore the lodge. They were looking for anything to attack, and now Hannah and Mike were the only ones left. His regret over his predicament faded, however, the moment he looked over at Hannah: she looked so concentrated, so strong. It was unlike any way he'd ever seen her before. She was going to end this thing right, with or without him.

But he couldn't leave her again.

He _wouldn't_.

Not after letting her down. Letting them _both_ down.

"You should have gone when you had the chance," Hannah told him, shaking her head. Mike tried to pretend like she hadn't been reading his thoughts exactly.

"I already said I'm not leaving you," he retorted harshly, only for her to shush him. Mike swallowed, lowering his voice, "what's the plan then?" Hannah's chest heaved in worried, deep breaths as her eyes scanned the room frantically for some kind of answer.

"Who says I have a plan?" she replied flatly. Mike moved forward, the wooden floor groaning under his weight. The both of them froze when a wendigo jumped from the upstairs banisher, landing right in front of them. "Don't move," she instructed, but he knew that already. With monsters quickly closing in, he was having a hard time staying put, however. The human instinct in him wanted to take off quickly, but that would be a fatal mistake - maybe for both of them.

Hannah suddenly ran instead, hurrying around a pillar. Her tank hit the wall with a hollow _thunk,_ immediately causing a wendigo to lurch toward her. Mike wanted to call out to her, to warn her, but before he could she doused the beast in flames. Screaming out, the long limbed creature threw itself back and into a wall before writhing on the floor. It didn't take long for the surrounding furniture to ignite in flames.

" _Hooooo_ -ly shi-" Mike yelped, his arms shielding his face from the roaring fire. Another shriek came from the other side of the room.

"Here!" Hannah yelled, tossing him what appeared to be an unlit molotov cocktail from her satchel. Mike choked on the smoke around him, his eyes burning as he tried to see.

"What am I supposed to do with this?!" he yelled through the chaos. His eyes met Hannah's, and without her having to tell him, he knew: if it came down to it, they were going down with the lodge.

Mike and Hannah jumped as they watched two of the remaining wendigos lunging at one another, fighting in the center of the lodge living room. Hannah braced herself to open fire at them once more, only for one of the wendigos to get hurled into a beam beside her.

"Hannah!" Mike yelled, watching on in horror as the beam came toppling down, knocking Hannah to the ground and pinning her at the knee. Hannah screamed in agony, her leg snapping and instantly rebreaking under the weight of the wooden plank. Mike ran to her, trying to lift it, but ducking down before one of the wendigos could spot him.

"You have to go!" she cried, her face sweaty and pale from the shooting pain.

"I'm not going without you!" Mike promised, but Hannah only shoved him in the shoulder, pushing him away.

"Get out of here, you idiot!" she cried, her voice hoarse and her throat burning. "I don't need you-"

"Is now really the time to be stubborn, Hannah?" he snapped back. Hannah was shaking, her eyes trailing back down to her leg. Mike brought her gaze back up to his, comfortingly smoothing down her wild hair. "Hannah, it's gonna be fine, alright? Look at me. Keep looking at me-"

"Tell my parents I love-"

"No!" Mike said sternly, giving her shoulders a good shake. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, choking on the smoke once again. He knew that too much longer in all of this fire and they'd both be goners, with or without the wendigos. "No, we're not doing that! We're getting out of here!"

The two heard a growl, followed closely by a snarl. Soon they spotted Balto, bearing his teeth at a wendigo that was slinking toward them. Before the wendigo could come any closer, Balto had leapt towards it, gripping onto it by its neck.

"No!" Hannah cried, watching the only thing she'd loved in the past year risking his life to save hers. Mike couldn't watch as the two tussled, finally finding his chance to lift the beam from her leg. Hannah grunted from the pressure being lifted from her as Mike strained to keep it up. She began to slink her body out from under it, only to find that her tank was holding her back.

" _Leave_ it!" Mike ordered, and helped her tear the tank from her back. Hannah crawled out, still watching in horror as Balto held his own.

Mike yanked her up, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, "c'mon! We gotta go!" he told her. Hannah started to object, wanting to tell him she wouldn't go anywhere without her dog, but instead found herself nodding. She was still full of pride, hating the fact that Mike was 'saving' her, but knowing there was no more time for grudges: if they didn't move now, they were going to die in there.

"Get to the door!" Mike ordered, but he basically swooped Hannah up against her will and made long, fast strides towards the safety of the back door. Hannah gripped onto him, peering over his shoulder to see Balto getting hurled across the room by one of the shrieking monsters. Her fingernails dug into Mike's coat as tears blurred her eyes.

"Balto!" she found herself screaming, instantly alerting the wendigo where they were. Mike didn't stop, just kept moving towards the safety of the outside porch. Hannah could see the stunned dog shake off the injury, but quickly came limping after them. Without another thought, knowing they were all out of the immediate danger, Hannah grabbed the molotov from Mike's hand, throwing it with all of her might right at her tank.

Time seemed to freeze as the room ignited, along with the monsters and everything around them. Mike and Hannah were propelled forward and out into the white, powdery snow of the lodge lawn. Hannah landed hard, the wind getting knocked right out of her. She gasped for air, rolling herself over and staring up at the awakening, pink sky. After a few moments she looked beside her where Mike was. Alive. Wounded and broken, but alive.

And as the lodge exploded in a fiery blaze, their skin ached from the heat on all their wounds , but it was an awakening - it signified their victory. Even so, hearing the terrible shrieks of the wendigo spirits as they went up with the clouds of black smoke would haunt them for years.

Then, as if it came from the smoke itself, a helicopter appeared, its propellers sounding like it was coming from their chests. Their hearts pounded and blood rushed to their ears.

"Down here!" Mike yelled, jumping up to his feet and waving his arms. The helicopter appeared to have spotted them and circled the area as they prepared to land, "Finally…"

Mike cradled his injured hand, the pain shooting through a hundred nerve endings. When he got thrown from the blast of the lodge, his hand took much of the blunt force when he landed, and now he was sure it was also broken. He looked over at Hannah to ask how her leg was. He was surprised to see fear written all over her face as she stared at the helicopter.

All night long, she had warrior eyes and a battle cry in her voice.

"Hannah…" He called to her, and he was surprised that she was able to hear him over all the noise. Her eyes met his and she did not look away; she did not try to hide her terror.

"I...I can't go," she shook her head and took a step back. Her injured and tired leg wobbled only for a moment before she collapsed onto the snow. Balto whined softly, laying beside her and licking her hand.

Mike knelt beside her, trying his best to remain eye contact with her, "Why? Hann, you're finally found, let them rescue you."

The helicopter landed, the biting air intensifying as the blades blew loose snow and suffocating smoke.

"I'll be right back." Mike stood from beside her to tell the rescuers that Hannah's leg was broken and they needed a stretcher to help her. He ran back over to her and dropped next to her. He set his eyes to determination when he looked at Hannah, "I'm not going to leave you here alone again. Let's talk about all this later, okay?" He stood up and reached down his good hand, despite his bad hand throbbing without the pressure, "Come with me, Hannah."

Hannah's lungs were like ice and she couldn't seem to catch her breath, but she slipped her hand into Mike's and allowed him to pull her up. He tugged on her, knowing the crew were coming over to them. He whistled and Balto stood up, tail shaking, "C'mon, Wolfie. We're not leaving you behind either." He barked in agreement and walked with him to the copter.

Hannah's heart fluttered at knowing Balto would be coming with her. He was the only other thing left for her on this mountain.

"Are there any others?" A medic asked. Mike nodded almost absently, realizing in the frenzy he'd nearly forgotten about the rest of the his friends. Hannah exchanged a look with him; they could only pray Josh had led them to the cablecar station in time.

"There should be a few more down at the cablecar station," Mike yelled over the cutting sounds of the helicopter blades. The medic spoke into his walkie before tending to Hannah. Mike helped her onto the stretcher and then the crew began buckling her in. He held onto her hand as they kept eye contact. Then they pulled her away from him and toward the helicopter.

"What happened to you guys down there?" One of the crew asked.

But they didn't answer. They would need a bit more time to process before trying to explain it.

"Wait, are you one of the Washington sisters?" the medic then asked, his eyes wide. He had surely never suspected they'd find her, especially alive. Hannah nodded solemnly, unsure how to even answer that question. She had no idea who she was anymore. She hadn't been a Washington in the last year… and she wasn't sure she'd ever feel like a Washington again.

Hannah looked out the window as the mountains grew further and further in the distance. She thought about her guardian and how he had protected her. She thought about Beth's remains and how she might never get to visit her grave again. Hannah was leaving the place where a part of her would always remain, and now she wasn't so sure she would be able to survive in the real world with only half a heart.

* * *

_**Mike - 2:30 pm - Blackwood Pines Hospital** _

Mike walked out of his hospital room with a bandaged hand and a mind loaded with strong painkillers. He asked some doctors where Hannah Washington was at, and he finally got informed that she went into surgery to fix her badly damaged leg. So he absently wandered the halls until, but some miracle, he found Sam sitting outside in a waiting area.

" _Heeeyyyy,"_ he greeted loudly, almost over the top with excitement.

Sam jumped when she heard his voice, and Mike saw how dirty and drained she looked. She watched him wearily as he sat down heavily next to her.

"Hey, yourself. How's your hand feeling?"

"Like absolute shit!" He said happily, looking down at his left hand that was thick with white bandages, "You think I can still get girls even though I'm missing fingers?"

"You still have one full hand of fingers," she commented dryly, crossing her legs and staring forward with a blank stare.

They fell into a silence and it was the first time since arriving on Mount Washington that there was a moment of calmness; time for reflection. And the more Mike stared down at his hand that would never be complete again, he couldn't help but think how his life would never be complete again either.

There was always a small part of him that believed Beth was alive. And when he ran into Hannah in the sanitorium, his hopes rose to the stars. If Hannah was standing in front of him after a year, it was possible for Beth to do the same. But when Hannah said that Beth was dead - the first time Mike heard the words spoken aloud, confirming what no one was ever completely sure of, it was instant denial.

He held up his hand. Two missing fingers. Two missing people. Beth and himself. The events of the night, followed by the effects of the painkillers, then the reality that Beth really was dead, hit him all at once as the tears streamed down his face. His breath hitched which caused Sam to realize what was happening.

"Beth's dead," Mike told her, his voice broken in a way that he hoped to never hear again. And it brought instant tears to Sam's eyes. She knew, as soon as Hannah didn't mention anything about Beth, that she had been alone.

Sam frowned, her face turning red and her vision blurring, but she refused to let the tears fall. She sat stiffly next to Mike as he let it all out. Over this last year she'd been so distracted by helping Josh that she'd forgotten how much Beth meant to Mike.

She'd forgotten how much Beth meant to her.

Sam couldn't even look at him when he stood from the seat and wobbled, his tired legs hardly being able to support him. She covered her mouth before a sob could escape when Mike pressed his forehead against the wall and scrunched his face in pain. But Mike's mind was blank except for the searing pain that kept flashing on all his good memories with Beth. They would never be accompanied without a deep melancholy and he fucking hated how tainted everything was now.

And what made it worse was that he knew Jessica was dead too and he felt like shit for not mourning her at that very instant as well, but there was already too much pain in his soul to accept that two of the people he was closest to would never see the light of day again.

He punched the wall with his bad hand. He couldn't even hold back the yelp of pain that shot through his veins.

"Mike!" Sam yelled when she heard him. Standing up quickly, she held her hands over her heart but still couldn't bring herself to get close to him.

" _It fucking shoulda been_ _ **ME**_." He sucked in a deep breath, his throat full of saliva, an awful gurgling sound forming around him as if he was trying to drown himself if only he could just black out from enough pain.

His hand throbbed and he slid against the wall to the floor, ragged breath after ragged breath.

"Samantha? Michael?"

They both heard their names from an older woman; tired but alert. Sam turned around to see Bob and Melinda standing there, having been called in when they got word that their son was in the hospital and their daughter was badly injured but found alive.

"We were told that Hannah was found…?" Bob spoke for him and his wife, but they didn't even breathe a sigh of relief when Sam nodded.

"And my Beth…?" Melinda found the courage to ask, but her eyes soon flitted down to Mike and his face said it all.

"Hannah's in surgery right now," Sam offered, "But I think Josh is awake…"

Melinda barely nodded before going around her to the nurse to ask where her son was.

* * *

_**Sam - 5:36 pm - Blackwood Pines Hospital** _

"He wants to see you."

" _Me_?" Sam asked, pointing to herself. Melinda nodded and Sam felt her stomach sink. What did he want to see _her_ for? Especially after everything that had just happened. She'd comforted him, she'd been there for him while he was losing it. Wasn't her job over yet? "I- _No_ … I really don't think-"

"He's in room 612," Melinda said without a beat. Sam glanced at the eyes upon her, the teens all battered and bruised. She'd faired pretty well, actually. Ash was still covered in blood - Sam reckoned she would scold Josh on his pig slaughtering at another time. Emily looked utterly traumatized. Mike was missing two of his fingers.

Matt was still missing.

Jess was dead.

But… Hannah was alive. Tormented and jaded, but alive.

They _all_ were.

She heaved a heavy sigh, standing from her waiting room chair. Her whole body ached, but she knew she needed to go see him one way or another, even if it was just to see with her own eyes that he was okay. She stiffly walked towards his room, checking door numbers as she passed by and silently wondering if this was a good idea.

There it was. 612.

Sam took in a sharp breath when she saw him. The first thing she noticed was that Josh looked so different - fragile and broken, resting in that hospital bed. Had he always looked this way? Had she just never noticed?

Sam began to quickly lose her nerve, turning to go back out before he noticed. Her plan was foiled, however, as her foot lightly and accidently squeaked on the floor, and Josh's eyes fluttered open.

" _Heeeeey_ ," he slurred. "Sammy."

Sam felt a faint smirk curve her lips, even though she didn't _feel_ like smiling. Even still, after everything he'd put her through, she couldn't deny that she was relieved to see him _alive_. She couldn't bear the idea of going through another year of a missing Washington sibling, no matter how she felt about him at the moment. They were _so_ incredibly lucky to have Hannah back - it was the last thing any of them had expected to happen - Aside from the flesh-eating monsters wreaking havoc on the lodge.

"Hi," Sam replied evenly, but her heart beat heavily and sorely in her chest. She was torn in half, wanting to both hug him and kill him at the same time. It was very confusing to feel this way. Her eyes began to blur with tears as she sorted through these very conflicting feelings running around in her head.

"You came," he said next, and he tiredly let his head fall to the side on his pillow, raising his eyes in slight surprise. "Didn't really expect that." Sam crossed her arms, but still involuntarily took a step towards him, anyways. His presence always felt magnetic to her, for some reason.

"Yeah, well… you asked," she replied, a cavalier shrug of a shoulder. But nothing about this interaction was casual. She still felt a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach when she looked at his face - a swollen, bloodied lip. A bandage on his shoulder from where Ashley had stabbed him and the black eye Mike had given him. His nose was broken.

There was one thing she was certain about as she stood before him: It was too soon.

Sure, she'd spent the last few hours reining Josh in, keeping his crazy at bay and being his strength as they battled monsters and he battled the monsters in his own head. That's what you do in a moment of crisis - you work together to survive, at all costs. It was never an option to leave him behind, no matter what he'd done to her that night. But now that she was here all she could think about was the boy she cared for, the one she thought cared for her, chasing her around a dark, damp basement.

She closed her eyes and saw him sawed in half.

That wasn't any better.

"What do you want?" she asked quickly, trying to get the words out before she lost her composure. Josh raised his head a bit, and she could tell from the wobbling he was still loopy from the pain meds.

"Oh. Umm," he murmured at her impatience, clearly caught off guard from the difference between the comforting Sam from a few hours ago and now. Cold. "I just uh…" he stammered. He had just wanted to thank her for saving him tonight. More than once.

"Josh, I shouldn't be in here," she said, glancing back at the door as though someone were coming for her. Josh knew from the way she looked at him that she literally wanted to be anywhere but here with him. He didn't like the way she looked at him now.

Like he was a monster.

Like she was scared of him.

He nodded solemnly, once again knowing that Sam was a good girl - the kind that told you what you wanted to hear and kept things diplomatic and even came to your rescue…. But it didn't mean anything. He folded his lips, his nodding turning to headshaking. He raised his eyebrows and gave a reciprocative shrug.

"Then nevermind, I guess."

Sam was dismissed, and she couldn't contain her relieved sigh as she turned, practically running for the door.

"No, wait," Josh called after her and Sam froze, her shoulders stiff as she turned back towards him slowly.

" _What?_ " It was a hiss. Both of them knew she never meant for it to be. Josh chuckled at her, and the condescending attitude of the whole situation was not sitting right with either of them. They could feel the tension gradually increasing as he eyed her up and down, reaching it's boiling point as he asked, "What the fuck is your problem?"

Of course, Josh wasn't stupid. Insane maybe, but not dumb. He _knew_ she had a right to be mad at him, at least from a logical standpoint. He knew he'd really done a number on her tonight, but he had his reasons, whether they made sense to her or not. He had hoped that one day he'd be able to explain them to her.

" _Excuse_ me?" Sam said, the red returning to her cheeks as she neared him. "What's _my_ problem?"

"Yeah, Sam. What's the deal? You clearly don't want to be here. So, wh-why even bother being there for me at all? Why even bother helping me off the mountain? It's so fucking obvious that you can't even stand me-" Sam was livid now, and practically standing over him, her hands clenched into fists.

"What? Wh-who _are_ you? Are you _kidding_ me?" Her eyes were full of tears now, and Josh couldn't help but look away. It was hard to see her cry, even though he'd been the cause of it only hours ago.

But Sam never cried. She wasn't very emotive in all the years he'd known her and she'd proved that time and time again. She took another determined step towards him, her voice raising,

"I spent the last year being there for you, whenever you needed me! I-I listened to you and spent time with you and leant you my ear and shoulder more times than I can count!" She pointed a finger in his face, gritting her teeth through her tears as she said, "don't you _dare_ say I didn't care about you-"

Josh clenched his jaw, swallowing down the lump that had formed in his own throat now. If he regretted what he'd just said to her, she'd never know it.

"Oh yeah? Well, you had a pretty shitty way of showing it," he grumbled almost under his breath. Sam's shoulders slumped as she stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Wait, _what_? I'm sorry, I'm confused. _What_ are we talking about?" Sam asked, the acid still dripping in her words.

"You _never cared_ about me, Sam!" Josh accused. Sam snorted, her hands on her hips now as she rolled her eyes at his melodramatic exclamation. It only made Josh's lump in his throat grow, and pretty soon he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to speak at all without losing it.

"Just because I didn't care about you the way you wanted me to, doesn't mean I didn't care," Sam nearly choked. Before she could let too much emotion give her away, she went on, angrily "A-and what does it even _matter_? You lied to me for an entire year! Y-you pretended we were close, meanwhile you were planning this horrible, elaborate, sick prank! You didn't let me know you at all-"

"I-I _tried,_ Sam! Over and over _and over_ again to get you to show even the _slightest_ bit of interest!" He was sitting up now, flushed in the face as well. He started to wonder why he even bothered asking for her in here in the first place. He should have known those close, comforting moments before and during their time on the mountain were over, now that they were safe and Hannah was home.

"What?!" Sam practically yelled, suddenly realizing that the two of them were talking about two very different things.

"Oh, sure, it was all fun and flirty and cute when you wanted it to be but the second anything turned serious you made a run for it." Sam shook her head at him, her arms dropping to her side.

"Josh, I have no idea what you're talking about," she finally scoffed, a hand in the air to wave him off dismissively.

" _We're_ _all_ _here for you_ ," he mimicked her words from earlier, a sharp sarcasm in his tone. " _We're_ all _gonna get through this, together_." She froze again, her eyes narrowing. "I wanted _you_!"

"Again, _what_ are you _talking_ about?" she repeated. Josh sighed, drowning in his own frustration with being unable to explain this, and then hissed in pain. His hand flew to his ribs as he reeled from the soreness in his chest. Sam practically leapt towards him, reaching her arms out towards him instinctively.

"Josh, a-are you okay?" she worried. He nodded but his face winced. She neared him, a hand softly on his good shoulder to ease him back onto his pillows. As he laid his head back down, their eyes connected like they had so many times - green to green. And the two of them knew that this was too much, too soon.

" _See?_ You're good at pretending you care about me, huh Sammy?," he said through a strained smile, but Sam was less than amused.

Especially because he was right.

"We all care about-"

" _No, Sam!_ " he shouted suddenly, causing Sam to jump. He'd never done that before. "No, _that_ is exactly my point! _Quit_ hiding behind everyone else and tell me that _you_ care about me! _Just_ you." He hid his face behind his hands after he said it, groaning into them and laying his head back. He hated that he had to spell this out for her, the way it made him feel so small and pathetic and no wonder she didn't like him like that... Was she really so romantically-challenged that she couldn't understand what he was telling her?

"I think coming in here was a mistake," she said quietly. He dropped his hands, defeatedly.

"Yeah, maybe it was," he sneered back at her, and Sam grew weary of his victim act quickly, especially considering everything from the night before.

"You've got some nerve, ya know that?" Sam scoffed again, shaking her head and turning away from him. " _I'm_ not the one who spent the entire night tormenting my _so-called_ best friends," she added callously. There. She said it. Sam needed him to remember that she wasn't the bad guy here, no matter which way he wanted to spin this.

"Ooooh, _right._ I forgot! I've got Saint Samantha before me, patron saint of _bullshit_ ," he spat sarcastically. Sam's eyebrows creased at his crassness, and she was once again trying to hold back tears. "You really think you're innocent in this? You really think your actions didn't push my plan right along?"

"You really are _insane_ -"

"You make _everyone_ believe you're so good and pure, but you're not, Sam. You're just as fucked up and broken as the rest of us. The only difference is you get away with it, hiding behind that good-girl facade. Did you really think after a year of late night conversations and flirting with me and comforting me that I wasn't going to develop feelings for you? And then you just act like you don't know what I'm talking about?"

"You never _told_ me that!" she yelled. "What, was I just supposed to read between the lines?!"

"Excuse me!" a nurse suddenly exclaimed, stepping into the room angrily. "There are people resting in his hospital, this is not acceptable! If you can't play nice, your friend will have to leave," she added, pointing a finger at Josh. His eyes widened as he pointed at himself, his eyes darting from the nurse to Sam and back.

"Why am _I_ getting blamed? I'm the one in the hospital bed," Josh contended, but the nurse was not having it.

" _Out_ ," she said sternly to Sam, who thankfully took this opportunity to leave as fast as she could.

"Oh, sweet little Samantha, leaving so soon! What a surprising _twist_!" Josh yelled after her. The nurse slammed the door behind her before Sam got a chance to hear her chastising Josh for being such a disruptive patient.

Sam finally let out the breath she'd been holding after she was safe in the hallway, but with it came an endless stream of tears. Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe it was everything that Josh had just accused her of.

Maybe it was the fact that somehow, in some warped way, he was right about her.

* * *

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Unforgettable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: The next 3 chapters are 100% backstory - the events that lead to the night of the prank.

* * *

_**Lincoln High School - September, 2011** _

The school bell rang, signaling the start of class. Mike was sitting in the middle of the classroom, twirling his pencil between all of his fingers as he unabashedly stared at the girl with the long dark hair sitting in the front row. She had her phone out, her fingers moving rapidly as she texted someone; Mike couldn't help but grin when she burst into laughter at a message she just received.

Everyone else in the room was being loud and social, so no one else even noticed her laugh. Everyone took this particular US History class with Mr. Cage because he was notorious for always being at least fifteen minutes late to each class. They were only about three weeks into their junior year, but no one was sure if any history lesson was actually given yet.

Mike stood up and made his way to the front of the room; the seats around the girl were taken, so he grabbed Mr. Cage's chair and wheeled it to her desk. He straddled the back of the chair, turning ever so slightly as he flashed her a smile.

"Funny story. I was sitting back there and then I heard this lovely sound float around me," he started, purposely making his speech over the top. He liked the way she looked up from her phone at him, one nicely shaped eyebrow arching in curiosity - possibly confusion.

"Go on," she said coolly, wondering what he was going to come up with.

"To quote Oscar Wilde, ' _laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.'_ " Mike held out his hand for her to shake, "Michael Munroe."

Beth didn't even look down at his hand, keeping direct eye contact with him, as she slipped her hand into his, "Well Michael Munroe, I'm not sure where you're going with this, but I believe you just told me that my laugh made this an okay meeting, but that it will make an _awesome_ goodbye?"

He grasped her hand tightly, "I believe it means that we will go out of this world laughing our asses off together."

She leaned in closer to him like she was sharing a secret, "I've always _dreamed_ I'd have that kind of death."

"It's a good thing we met then," he commented proudly, never even taking his hand from hers, "I promise we'll go down in a flame of glory together - _Beth Washington_."

The classroom door suddenly slammed as Mr. Cage entered the room, carrying a ridiculously large briefcase that held only a few pieces of paper, " _Mr._ Munroe, what are you doing in my chair?"

Mike quickly swung his leg from around the back of the chair, carefully sliding it around to the front of Mr. Cage's desk, "Just keepin' it warm for you, sir. Wouldn't want you to talk about the Cold War in a cold seat."

"Is that on the syllabus?" Mike heard him mumble to himself. As Mike walked past Beth's desk, he knocked on it two times quickly, his way of telling her that he would talk to her again soon.

That night, as Beth crawled into bed, she got an alert message on her phone and saw that it was a Facebook friend request from Mike Munroe. His profile picture was him on the beach, shirtless, jumping midair to hit a volleyball over the net. Her profile picture was a simple black and white headshot with her wearing sunglasses. She clicked _Accept._

He automatically messaged her.

 **Mike Munroe:** _[9:48 pm]_ So we're officially friends now?

 **Beth Washington:** _[9:48 pm]_ Facebook official.

 **Mike Munroe:** _[9:49 pm]_ You're Josh.0's sister, right? We got into a fight a few years ago. Best buds now.

 **Beth Washington:** _[9:49pm]_ Really? He's never once mentioned you.

 **Mike Munroe:** _[9:49 pm]_ Sugar shits, now I'm depressed.

Beth grinned and threw her phone down on her bed, going downstairs to get a glass of water. It was strange to her that the famous Michael Munroe randomly started talking to her. Of course, everyone at school knew who he was. He won _Most Attractive Guy_ the year prior. Everyone who voted thought it was okay to vote for him _for real_ but when it came to voting for _Most Attractive Gal,_ the majority of the school thought it would be funny to vote for Jennifer Willis, a short, super chunky girl with bad acne and social anxiety so bad that it made even the most extreme introverts wince. Beth didn't vote for anyone at all. She wanted no part in any of it.

Mike, as it turned out, was not a complete asshole and welcomed Jennifer on his _Throne of Winners_ and sat with her for a few weeks at lunch so no one would make fun of her. Then just like all things in high school, the joke faded and people moved on to other things.

When Beth got back to her room, she picked up her phone to see his new message.

 **Mike Munroe:** _[9:53 pm]_ This is where you're supposed to say that WE'RE best buds now and that I don't have to be depressed.

 **Beth Washington:** _[9:55 pm]_ You already said it for me! =P

Beth was planning on leaving it at that. She went to throw her phone on her dresser, but jumped when her bedroom door suddenly flew open, revealing Hannah, who let her hair air dry (again) and was therefore frizzy and wild. Her dark eyes were huge behind her glasses.

"Hannah, what the _hell!"_ Beth chastised, "Just because I said you don't need to knock doesn't mean you can scare the shit outta me like th-"

"You're Facebook friends with Mike Munroe?" Hannah asked, getting straight to the point. She didn't really mean to react like this, but she had just logged on to the social media site and when she read the "Beth Washington and Mike Munroe are now friends!" post with that little button next to Mike's picture asking her - _her! -_ if she wanted to add Mike Munroe as a friend, it obviously couldn't be helped that she would _freak!_

"Yeah, so?" Beth shrugged, narrowing her eyes in confusion. She looked down at her phone, seeing Mike's picture next to three little bouncing dots as he typed up another response.

Hannah ran over to Beth's bed, jumping up and landing on her knees on the soft comforter, "What do you mean _so?_ He's the hottest guy in school! ...and the city! Maybe even the state!"

Beth rolled her eyes at Hannah's exaggerated expressions, "Oh, please…he is _not_ all that." Her phone vibrated in her hand and she looked down to see the message.

 **Mike Munroe:** _[9:59pm]_ Sit with me at lunch tomorrow.

"What he say, what he say?" Hannah repeated, not even being able to wait for Beth's response. She snatched her sister's phone from her hands, her eyes roaming over the words that she read four or five times.

"You're acting like a spaz," Beth said dryly, not even bothering to get her phone back. She slipped under her covers, "Tell him _okay_."

"Whaaaat?!" Hannah threw the phone back down beside Beth, "I-I can't talk to him, _no!"_

Beth eyed her from the side before sighing heavily and meeting Hannah's gaze, noticing how pink her cheeks were, " _Really?_ You have a crush on the most popular guy at school? Isn't that a little…I dunno, cliché?"

Hannah's face became redder. She thought she was being so careful - was she really that obvious? She could have sworn she just sounded like a curious sister and was looking out for her favorite sister's wellbeing.

"Y-you're the one living the cliché!" Hannah countered, biting her thumb nail nervously before Beth knocked her hand away from her mouth (she'd be trying to break her of that habit for years), "The popular guy wanting to be _just friends,"_ she had to put these words in air quotes, "until the girl gets to know him and they fall madly in love."

"You watch way too many romance movies," Beth noticed, "Or write too many romance stories. Maybe you should try a different genre. It'll do you-" She paused when she thought she saw a movement behind Hannah, but shook it off when there was nothing.

But before she could finish her sentence, a large creepy bunny suit quickly stood up from the side of her bed, causing both girls to scream loudly, Hannah jumping into Beth's arms.

It only took a few more seconds for Beth to realize that it _had_ to be Josh. She groaned and threw a pillow at him, "Josh, why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit!?"

He slowly raised a furry finger and pointed at her, his voice deepened somehow, "Why are you wearing that stupid human suit?"

"You're a jerk!" Hannah yelled, leaping from the bed and onto Josh, trying hard to pull the bunny head off of him.

"Hey!" Josh countered when Hannah was able to expose his face, "Don't tear the mask, it's authentic _Donnie Darko!"_

Beth groaned and fell back on her bed as her siblings fought over the mask. If Hannah watched too many romances, Josh definitely watched too many horrors. Didn't they know that there was other stuff out there? Why did they have to choose one thing and become completely _obsessed_ with it?

"Josh, my glasses!" Hannah yelled when Josh tried to pry the mask from her and accidentally bumped her glasses from her face, "I'm ratting you out if dad has to buy me new ones!"

" _I'm ratting you out if dad-"_ Josh began mocking her in a high-pitched voice before Hannah punched him in his shoulder.

"Get _out_ of my room!" Beth demanded, having had quite enough of their nonsense. She was only rewarded with a 180 pound bunny jumping on top of her.

* * *

_**October, 2011 - Washington House** _

Hannah could remember how shocked she was the day she came home from school and Mike Munroe was sitting on her living room couch. She'd always known who he was - it was hard to miss a face like that. But aside from the occasional eye contact or nod or hello in the hallway, Hannah and Mike were strangers and she admired him from afar. So him hanging out in her living room was unexpected, to say the least.

"Hey," Mike said, caught off guard when Hannah entered the room. She dropped her backpack to her side, staring back at him awkwardly. Thankfully for her, Sam was right behind her to alleviate some of that pressure.

"Hey Mike," Sam greeted casually. They'd taken a few classes together and had pretty much known each other since they were kids. Somehow, Hannah had never been lucky enough to end up in a class with Mike - it was probably because she was taking mostly Honors classes with Ashley.

It was Friday and Beth invited Mike and some of his friends over for a bonfire - Matt (the quarterback) and Jessica (the cheerleader). Hannah had already asked Sam and Ashley over, and Josh and Chris were in the media room playing video games since school had gotten out hours ago. That was the first night they all hung out together… except Emily. She came later.

It was easy for Hannah to see that Mike and Beth had a bond pretty early on - their personalities just clicked. She'd asked Beth a few times if she had a crush on Mike, secretly praying the answer was 'no' and then being so relieved when it was. She never said why, though. Just that she didn't see him that way.

At school, since both were pretty popular in their own cliques, Mike and Beth banded together to form a super-clique...which Hannah wasn't a part of. She didn't care, though. She very much enjoyed her quiet lunches with Ashley and sometimes Sam. Even though she was her best friend, Sam was a "floater," as Mike called her while explaining the hierarchy of the school's social ladder that night in front of the fire.

"Floaters are really the best because you get to experience all different parts in high school. It's not easy being popular all the time, you miss out on a lot," Mike lamented. Beth rolled her eyes at Mike's flawed logic. Meanwhile, Hannah found a way to see his ignorance as a desirable trait instead of a glaring flaw. He was just so handsome.

"What would I have been?" Josh droned from the other side of the fire, jabbing the logs with a stick and watching the flames. Mike and Josh had their own history - they got into a fist fight in the cafeteria when Josh was a sophomore and Mike was a freshman. If you asked them now, neither could tell you what started it. Both got sent to the principal's office, and they'd actually been good friends since.

Mike sucked some air through his teeth, obviously trying to think of the right answer, "I mean, I was kinda in with the popular seniors last year," Mike began. "I think they kinda considered you and Chris burnouts…"

"What? Josh and I didn't smoke pot," Chris dismissed, but then added, " _before_ school." Everyone laughed. Josh laughed extra hard. Probably because he was high now.

"Tell you what, Josh. We won't label you a burnout. I will promote you to class clown, which is pretty much a floater with a sense of humor-"

" _Hey!"_ Sam tried to object, but Mike went on. "- _that means_ you can fit in just about anywhere so long as you're making people laugh," Mike negotiated. It was clear his parents were lawyers every time Mike opened his mouth. Not the political ones… more like the ones you see on bus stop benches.

"What about me?" Chris asked, still stuck on the bottom ring. Mike allowed him to make a horizontal move into 'Smart kids and Nerds.' It was okay though; Ashley was in that group and Chris liked anything if it involved her.

Hannah didn't ask where she fell, because as it turned out, according to Mike, Hannah was down with the other "theater freaks" towards the bottom. She had just been about to tell everyone she got the role of Juliet in the school play.  
Convincing herself it was because it was too much of a commitment on top of debate team and creative writing, she turned it down to her understudy the next day.

* * *

_**February 2012 - First Lodge Get Together - Sam, Beth, Hannah, Mike, Chris, Josh** _

"Let's party like we're fucking pornstars!" Josh stood at the front of the party-bus and raised his arms above his head as loud music blasted from all the speakers on the bus.

"Josh, turn down the music!" Beth yelled from the back of the bus. She could already tell that Josh was getting wasted and didn't want to have to deal with carrying his ass to the lodge when they arrived.

Hannah stood from her seat and reached into the cooler for another beer, "Oh, C'mon, Beth! Loosen up a little!"

Beth narrowed her eyes at her sister, watching as Hannah's face winced at the bitter taste of beer even though she did her best to keep chugging. Hannah had taken off her jacket to reveal her low cut shirt that showed off the bottom of her tummy. Beth could see Hannah trying to shoot glances over to Mike to see if he was watching.

But when Beth looked over at Mike, he was looking out the window at the winter wonderland scenery. She leaned over to Sam and tried to talk over the music, "We're gonna have to keep an eye on Hannah this weekend."

"Sounds lovely," Sam commented dryly.

At the front of the bus, Chris and Josh tapped their beer bottles together before chugging down the full contents in mere seconds.

"Happy birthday to me!" Josh bellowed followed by a long, obnoxious " _WOOO!"_ from both him and Chris.

As Beth predicted, Hannah drank too much too fast and was pretty drunk once they arrived at the lodge. She told them guys that she would catch up with them later once she got Hannah taken care of, and she was grateful that Sam was still willing to help. They got Hannah up to her butterfly bedroom, giggles escaping her lips every few seconds.

"Did you guys see how _hot_ Mike looks?" Hannah stared wide-eyed at the two girls, her face completely serious.

"Sure did," Beth answered quickly, twisting open the top of a water bottle and handing it to Hannah, "But if you want to continue hanging out with him, you're going to have to sober up a bit."

Hannah nodded and grabbed the water, acting like she was about to take a long swig, but then only took a small sip. She swayed. Beth and Sam reached out for her at the same time, helping her sit on her bed covered with a purple comforter.

"Maybe you should take a quick nap," Sam suggested, putting a hand on Hannah's shoulder and pushing her back. Beth grabbed a hold of her legs and hoisted them on the bed while taking off her boots.

"No, but...it's Josh's birthday!" Hannah argued as though that would keep her from falling asleep, her eyes already closing.

Sam took Hannah's glasses off and set them on her nightstand, "And Josh will still be celebrating it when you wake up."

It only took a few more minutes for Hannah to be asleep. Beth sighed deeply, "Ohh, dear sister of mine…"

Sam chuckled as she threw a small blanket over Hannah, "She just wants everything to happen _now_ but then gets way ahead of herself. I just really wish she didn't like Mike so much. I know it must be hard for her that he's almost always around."

Beth nodded, taking off her hat and jacket. She threw the items over the back of a chair, "It's not her fault...she can't help how she feels."

Sam slid her hat from her head, her long blonde hair looking disheveled. When she took of her jacket, she revealed her green long-sleeved shirt, making her eyes stand out. Beth smiled softly at her, taking Sam's outerwear to hang over the chair as well.

"You look really pretty tonight," Beth complemented, hoping that came out sounding normal, "Don't tell me you're here to get someone's attention too?"

" _Please,"_ Sam droned, rolling her eyes, "With any of those hotheads down there? They're not my type at all."

"That's good to hear," Beth admitted, then paused, expecting Sam to ask if she was secretly dating Mike since so many others seemed to think that as a possibility. She was overcome with a sense of relief when Sam didn't. She even felt a giddiness flutter her heart when Sam sat down on the floor and began looking through some of Hannah's poorly put together scrapbooks.

"Hannah has to document every moment, I swear," Sam laughed as she looked at some of the pictures Hannah kept as strong mementos.

Beth sat down next to her to see what she was looking at. Random pictures of dances, parties, and beach visits littered the scrapbook. Sam held up a particular one taken a few years ago of her, Beth, and Hannah at a pool party. Hannah was in a purple one-piece bathing suit, Beth was in a black bikini, Sam in a dark green one.

"Green really is your color," Beth commented, taking the picture from Sam and admiring how gorgeous they looked together.

"It brings out my eyes," Sam said in a joking way, as though she didn't want to accept the compliment.

"I know."

Beth's gaze met Sam's, but only for a brief moment before Sam gave a tight smile and closed the scrapbook. It was at that moment that Josh burst into the room holding three beers, not even caring that he was spilling a lot of liquid on the wood floor, "Come on down to the party, ladies! We need something besides sausages!"

"Gross," Sam and Beth said at the same time. Beth grinned and stood up quickly, grabbing Sam's hand and pulling her to her feet, "Let's go show these guys that we can hold our own."

* * *

_**July, 2012 - Washington House** _

It was movie night at The Washington's and almost everyone was there: Josh, Hannah, Beth, Mike, Sam, and Chris. It was Ladies Night, so each of the girls got to choose a movie. Hannah chose a romantic comedy, Sam chose a movie about animals, and Beth chose a suspense thriller that all the guys were quite thankful for.

It was during Hannah's movie, _He's Just Not That Into You,_ that she kept sneaking glances over at Mike. Beth was sitting next to him. They were practically joined at the hip and Hannah couldn't help the jealousy that was building in her stomach that prevented her from enjoying the movie. And she hated it more than anything. She didn't want to be jealous of her twin sister. Especially when she knew Beth and Mike were only friends and Beth had no interest in him whatsoever. Hannah knew that because Beth had to reassure her about it. A lot.

She just wished Mike would stop liking Beth so much, as horrible as that sounded. But it was hard to get him alone when they were literally always together.

Speaking of which, Hannah watched as Mike leaned his mouth to Beth's ear and whispered something to her. Beth simply nodded then stood up nonchalantly, followed by Mike, and began walking toward the exit of the media room.

"No ditching allowed!" Josh called after them. He looked around the area quickly, "Shit, where's my taser!?"

"No tasering tonight," Sam said calmly as she reached for the bucket of popcorn without butter (made specifically for her).

"You need to learn to live a little, Sweetheart."

"Don't ever call me that again."

" _Guys_!" Hannah interrupted, her face turning red and her glasses fogging. Beth and Mike left as soon as Josh called them out on it and now she had to continue sitting through a movie that no longer seemed romantic or funny, just tragic and ironic. _He's Just Not That Into You._

Beth and Mike went out to the gazebo in the middle of the Washington's huge backyard. It was empty save for the flowers hanging from the beams (maintained by the gardeners) and a large swing with tons of cushions.

The air was crisp, even for mid-summer, but their long-sleeved flannels kept them comfortable. Beth first brought him to the gazebo a few months ago when he asked her where her go to spot was when she needed alone time. No one else ever utilized the secluded spot.

Mike placed his hands behind his head, pushing the swing slowly with his foot, "Nice night."

Beth snorted at his lame comment, "Come here often?"

He side-eyed her, a small smirk curving his lips. He raised his voice to a feminine tone with a snooty influx, "Mmm...I like this."

"I think we were in love in another life."

Mike lowered his arms, " _Daaammmnn_ girl, you're smooth."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh please. If you ever bring home a girl telling me that you used that line on her, I'm going to smack you and buy her a cab."

"I would never _dream_ of using the line you just used on me on somebody else," Mike swore, smiling when she shook her head but then laughed when she giggled.

They fell into comfortable silence. Beth laid her head back and closed her eyes. Mike stared out into the dark garden, pondering his next move. He had really gotten close with the girl sitting next to him and she somehow became his everything. And they never really talked about how natural their friendship became, and he assumed it was because she felt everything he felt. When they were hanging out with all of their friends, they usually stuck together most of the time. His favorite times were when Josh sent a mass text to everyone about a party, and then Beth would follow up with a text to only him about bailing on the party and finding something else to do.

He watched countless guys hit on her, and yet every time, her eyes would find his and she would flash him a smile that would melt his jealousy in an instant. And before her, Mike would always eat up all the girls throwing themselves at him, but now he enjoyed walking away from them and finding Beth. He would follow her to the end of the earth if she asked. He swore he would.

Mike reached behind her and smoothed her soft hair down, smiling softly when she turned her head toward him and looked at him with pure contentedness.

So he dipped his head to kiss her. Finally.

" _Whoa!_ " She snapped her head back and and held a hand to his chest. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and she even felt her heart clench at the immediate fear that flashed in his eyes. "Mike...what are you doing?"

"I...I mean, I really want to say that it was obvious but-."

"No, I know. I know, it's just…" Beth trailed off and wrapped her arms around herself, sitting forward a bit on the swing. She momentarily hated herself and silently scolded her inner thoughts for having not thought that something like this would happen.

"Sorry," he said genuinely, followed by a pause, then, " _Son of a dick!"_ He rubbed his hands down his face, "I just really thought you were waiting for me to make a move…"

Beth looked at him from the side as he struggled with the embarrassment of being rejected and the confusion of not knowing why. And she couldn't blame him for any of it. But she did blame herself for not talking to him about the oddly perfect connection between them.

She leaned back again so their shoulders touching, "There's something I need to tell you...something I never told anyone."

Mike dropped his hands heavily to his lap, "Let me guess, not even yourself?"

"Don't be a smartass," she chastised but then quickly pursed her lips, "Even though you're kinda right. It's been something I was never fully sure of so-."

"You're gay," Mike said for her.

She turned to him with wide eyes and a pale face, "How did you know I was going to say that?"

"Please," he rolled his eyes but looked down at her with a grin, "There's only one reason you wouldn't want to bone me."

Beth narrowed her eyes and punched him in the arm, "Or maybe it's because you're a narcissistic asshole!"

They both chuckled, almost forced perhaps, but it allowed them to clear the air.

"Are you okay?" She finally asked.

Mike breathed heavily through his nose, letting it out through his lips, "Only you would ask something like that after spilling _your_ deepest secret. I should be asking you how it feels to get that off your chest."

"It feels...I mean, you don't even seem surprised?"

He shrugged, a playful look in his eyes as he gave her a nudge, "I mean… how can you be _sure_ you're gay? Have you ever kissed a girl?" he wondered. Beth bit her bottom lip and gave his arm a light punch.

"No… have you ever kissed a _guy?_ "

"What!?" Mike nearly shouted, laughing uncomfortably at the mere thought. "No. No way."

"Well, then how do you know that you're straight?"

"I just know, okay?"

"Well," Beth said softly, tucking her dark hair behind her ear, "there ya go, then. I just know."

"Fair enough," Mike sighed, leaning back into the wooden swing and bringing Beth closer to him. He pressed a kiss into her hair and tired not to take in her scent. He wanted to support her. He loved her. Even if she would never be able to love him back the way he wanted.

"So… who is she then?" Mike asked after a long silence. Beth popped her head up, her eyes searching his for the seriousness in his tone. "Is it Jess? Ashley?"

"Oh, shut up," Beth laughed, pushing herself away from him and leaning forward. Mike could still see the pink in her cheeks, even in the darkness.

"Amy? Sarah?"

"Cut it out!"

"That chick in gym? The one with the shorty-shorts we're always checking out-"

" _Mike-_ " she warned.

"Is it Sam?" Mike stopped when he saw Beth freeze, a look of terror in her eyes. "W-w-wait… _Sam!?_ "

"Would you shut up, I don't think the neighbor's heard you!" Beth snapped, standing up and immediately beginning to pace. Mike leaned back, folding his arms over his chest and feeling quite proud of himself for figuring that one out.

"What is with the Washingtons and their infatuation with that girl?" he asked rhetorically. "You know you're gonna have to fight Josh for her. This is straight up Jerry Springer shit-" he teased. Beth charged him, her small hand cupping over his mouth to shut him up physically, since he seemed incapable of doing it himself.

"It's just a crush, okay? Besides… I don't even think she bats for my team, ya dig?" She tried to say this with humor in her tone, but Mike's heart sunk when he picked out the poignant sadness behind her words. She slowly slid her hand down from his mouth and plopped down beside him.

"You want to gay-marry Sam and go for hikes and save the whales and eat granola…" Mike mumbled, shaking his head. Beth shot him one more disapproving glance before her face softened and she began to laugh weakly. She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head.

"I so regret telling you now…" She groaned. Mike moved her hands from her face, meeting her gaze.

"Beth… I swear, I won't say anything. Please don't regret telling me. I'm honored you chose to tell me," he told her sincerely. Beth smiled, leaning in and giving her best friend a hug, relieved that although there was initial teasing, she was happy he was there for her.

"You sure you're okay?" she said into his shirt before looking up at him.

"Think it's still just shock? Maybe that's not the right word." He looked down at her and she met his gaze, her heart clenching at the sad look in his eyes.

She interlaced their fingers and rested their hands on his thigh, "I hope this doesn't change anything though. You're still my best friend...you're my - you're my person. I still want to put you in your place when you're being obnoxious. And I still want to be the first person you tell everything to."

Mike stared down at their hands, and he never thought he would feel any more in love than he did right then, and he wondered if it was because he knew he could never fully have her now.

" _Aaaanndd_ I do have a twin sister that's crazy about you. Just throwing that out there."

Mike tried to let out a laugh and tried to think of something inappropriate to say about twins, but he couldn't even bring himself to it. And he didn't want to say anything bad about Hannah, but she was definitely not Beth and he just had to let that go.

"Tell me that, no matter what _lucky_ girl gets you, that I'll always be your person, too," she said in a lighthearted tone, but he could tell she was completely serious about it. And Beth was never one to throw soulful or romantic one-liners out there all willy-nilly, so Mike knew she really needed this reassurance. It could've been because she laid out a secret to him that she may have not ever let out if they weren't as close as they were. This was the real her that no one else knew anything about. And he would never have her romantically, but the purity that would remain between them softened the blow because now he was sure he would never mess up with her. He would never have the chance to destroy her. She'd be there forever.

"No bullshit," he said, "You'll _always_ be my person, Beth."

* * *

_To Be Continued..._


	6. Unrequited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: This chapter is 100% backstory - the events that lead to the night of the prank.

 

_**February 1st, 2013 - Second Lodge Trip** _

"Who's bright idea was it to play Spin the Bottle?" Beth asked dryly as Josh laid a newly empty beer bottle on the kitchen island that they all stood around.

"The question is not _who,_ dear sister of mine, but _why,"_ Josh answered regally. Even though it was hardly an answer Beth wanted, she knew better than to egg the question any further.

"Get in the spirit of things, Beth. Dark lodge, candlelight… and maybe you'll get to suck face with someone you've always wanted to," Mike said, leaning in close to Beth until his forehead touched her temple. He lowered his voice so only she could hear, "You might get Saaaa-"

" _Sttooooppp,"_ she whispered harshly behind her beer bottle even though she couldn't help the smile that curved her lips. Even the thought of it made her a curious mess.

Mike grinned, "Awww, aren't you just _so_ adorable when you blush?" He quickly leaned away from her and grabbed hold of the empty bottle, raising it high in the air, "Who's brave enough to go first? No one? Okay, I'll be the big man."

He placed the bottle back on the table and gave it a hard spin. Everyone cheered like they were watching a football game, and then hollered even more when the bottle pointed at Emily, much to Hannah's dismay.

Emily was new, only swooping in to Lincoln High their senior year, joining the group and ' _destroying my life,_ ' as Hannah had said the moment she saw the first flash of chemistry between Emily and Mike.

"The bottle agrees with what I've been saying for months!" Beth announced, getting into the game and happy that Mike might now actually make a move on Emily. However, right after she said it, she felt a stab in her chest; her sisterly connection with Hannah suddenly had her feeling a mix of joy for Mike, but deep sadness for Hannah. And she hated feeling split like that.

Hannah's heart clenched at not only knowing that Mike was about to kiss Emily, but that her sister supported it. _How could she?_

Emily stepped around the island, a smirk on her lips as she walked right up to Mike, "You gonna show me a good time, stud?"

Mike didn't waste a second after chugging back his beer to then grab her around the waist and press his lips to hers. She met him eagerly, and he was surprised to feel a small jolt run through his body, a giddy eagerness to taste more of her. Especially when Emily placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away just enough to speak to him with their lips still touching, "Save a little for later."

"Damn, girl," his voice came out low, lust in his eyes as she flirtatiously turned away from him. Maybe it had just been too long, or maybe he already drank too much, or maybe he was actually really attracted to her, but he suddenly couldn't wait to get her alone.

"My turn!" Beth called out, grabbing the bottle and spinning. She was feeling Mike's sudden high and wanted to hang onto it, to be on that high with him, even though she had no idea what she would actually do if it landed on who she really wanted it to. And she needed to take the focus away from Mike and Emily, at least for Hannah's sake.

It landed on Jess.

"Um, yeah, _no way_ am I kissing a girl," Jessica blatantly denied, "There's like... _rules_ that prevent that, right?"

Mike was about to speak up about she was _crazy_ for not wanting to, but then Beth said, "No way I'd wanna kiss those augmented lips anyway."

The comment made everyone yell out burn noises, and Beth didn't even care that Jess was shooting daggers at her.

"Whatever," Jess said, grabbing hold of the bottle then spinning it, giggling when it landed on Josh, "Now that's a Washington I wouldn't mind gettin' dirty with."

Beth leaned over to Sam who was right next to her and said, "I hope he spits in her mouth."

Sam's face scrunched in disgust, "I think that was the most disturbing things you've ever said."

But instead, Josh only leaned down close to Jess but then stopped and shook his head, "Nah. If you get to pass once, I do, too. I want to save myself for someone… a little more pure." Josh turned away from her and grabbed the bottle before anyone else could comprehend that he'd just turned down the _hottest_ girl. But when the bottle pointed to Sam, Josh's face lit up, "Now _that's_ more like it!"

Jess folded her arms with a slight pout, not at all liking that she was at the receiving end of not one but _two_ jokes made by the Washington siblings. Her eyes glared at Beth, then at Josh, then at Emily and how she was staring at Mike. Emily had another thing coming if she thought she could just swipe up the hottest guy in school. She'd been steadily crafting and cultivating her seduction of Michael Munroe for years now.

"Oh, God…" Sam uttered with wide, watching eyes as Josh made his way over to her slowly.

"Relish in this moment, Sammy," he gave a half smirk, his voice low with passion, "The fate of the bottle has spoken. It's not just _everyday_ you get to-."

"Just do it already, Washington!" Sam interrupted, not wanting this to go on any longer. But she didn't want to use her skip on him, because truthfully, there wasn't anyone in the group she'd rather kiss. Kissing Chris would have been too weird, she hardly even _knew_ Matt, and Mike was seething with cooties, she imagined.

" _Sooo_ impatient," Josh droned, running a finger over the curve of her face before resting it under her chin. Sam couldn't deny that his touch and the dark look in his eyes were doing _something_ to her. She allowed him to tilt her head and she closed her eyes, staying completely still when his lips pressed so softly to hers, she wondered if that was all it was going to be. And she almost felt herself getting lost in the moment…

But then he grabbed the back of her head and pressed their mouths harder together as he stuck his tongue down her throat. Her yelp was muffled between them, but she was able to push him away hard and quick, her hand wiping over her bruised lips, " _Fuck you, Josh!"_

Josh laughed which caused most of the others to as well, save for Beth and Hannah who were both glaring at Josh disapprovingly.

"C'mon, Josh, that was uncalled for," Hannah shook her head.

"You okay?" Beth asked Sam even though it was obvious that Sam was fuming.

"Fucking _hate_ your brother, sometimes…" Sam said, but was really trying to just let it die down before everyone remembered it as the time ' _Sam got pissed and overreacted._ ' That was usually Hannah's forte.

"And by hate, I know you mean _love_ ," Josh said, making it worse.

"Okay, bro," Chris jumped in, knowing how far Josh could go and not wanting to deal with those repercussions. He grabbed the bottle and couldn't help but shoot a quick glance over to Ashley as he did. She had hardly said anything all night, and he knew that she was a little shy and not used to being around everyone yet, but he _really_ wanted to break the ice with her. So he prayed that his dream would come true.

The bottle landed on Hannah.

Hannah wasn't even looking. She kept sneaking glances over to Mike, hating that he seemed to be suddenly infatuated with Emily. That burning desire in his eyes was how she always dreamed he would look at her, and seeing him giving that so easily away to someone else was tearing her up inside.

" _Hannah!_ "

She snapped out of her thoughts and saw that everyone was looking at her. Beth pointed to the table and it was then that Hannah noticed the bottle had chosen her. And Chris was standing in front of her. He gave a half-hearted shrug, "You okay with this?"

She only hesitated for a quick moment before nodding. Maybe Mike would watch and then realize he was jealous and let her know all about it later in the night. She stood up on her tiptoes and Chris leaned down to meet her halfway, their mouths meeting unexpectedly fast. It was a very tight-lipped and inexperienced kiss, but it gave them both an insight on what to expect.

They parted. Hannah casually turned to see Mike's reaction, but he hadn't even been looking. He was too busy chatting quietly with Emily, a big stupid grin on his face - he'd _never_ looked at Hannah that way. She could almost see the hearts radiating off them like some cartoon.

Meanwhile, Chris side-eyed Ashley, a small smile lighting up his face when he saw that she looked a little uneasy as she bit her lip and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Maybe he could talk to her later.

_Maybe._

"Who's next?" Josh wondered, tipping the neck of the bottle in Sam's direction, "Sammy? Wanna try two for two?" he winked. Sam rolled her eyes, her cheeks pinkening and her ears burning. She hated the way everyone was looking at her.

"Ya know, I think I've kissed enough toads for one night, _thank-you-very-much_ ," she replied haughtily before she stomped off. "I'm going to take a bath and go to bed," she called out over her shoulder.

"Oh, uh... is that an invitation, Sammy?" Josh shouted after her, quite amused with himself until he noticed Beth's death-glare in his direction. He shrugged, his eyes wide and innocent, " _what!?_ C'mon, you know I'm just playing with her-"

"Go. Apologize. _Now_ ," Beth demanded, rubbing her temples like an exhausted teacher with too many unruly students. Josh chuckled and looked around for some kind of back up, only to see everyone was either in agreement with Beth, or not paying attention at all. He flipped the bottle in the air and caught it in his hand before slamming it down on the counter with a _thud_.

" _Fiiiine_ ," he muttered, hurrying after Sam up the lodge stairs. "Yo! Sammy! Wait up!"

Beth let out a long sigh, turning towards her friends just in time to see Hannah's crestfallen expression. She was still watching on longingly as Emily and Mike quietly slinked off together into a guest room. Beth knew this wasn't going to go over well. She placed her hand on Hannah's shoulder, only for her sister to shrug it off.

" _Don't_ touch me," Hannah hissed. Beth could see the beginnings of tears in her sister's eyes before she stormed off to her bedroom.

" _Great_ ," Beth said, throwing her hands up in frustration. Could this possibly get any worse? Beth looked around at the remaining faces, and the only eyes to met hers belonged to Chris. "What am I supposed to do about that?" she asked him rhetorically. Chris sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I'll go check on her," he offered, turning and following after Hannah to her room.

_ _ _ _ 

Josh made it to the bathroom door just before Sam shut it. He stuck out his foot to keep it from closing and leaned against the doorframe with a smug smile on his lips. Sam folded her arms, looking less than thrilled that he followed her.

" _What?_ " she snapped. His smile widened at her discomfort - he liked the way it rouged her cheeks and narrowed her eyes, skeptically. There was something addicting to him about getting under her skin.

"Well, _first_ of all," he started. Josh brought his hand up and pulled a chewed piece of pink bubblegum from his mouth, offering it to her, "I think this is yours?" Sam recoiled, her face twisting with disgust before she slapped his hand away. That _had_ been the gum she was chewing on before spin the bottle...

" _Sick_ , Josh." Even still, she laughed anyway. That was one of his favorite things about her. "Other than being disgusting, why are you here?"

"I'm here to apologize," Josh told her before shoving the gum back into his mouth, happily. _Her loss_.

"Fine. Whatever. Now go." Josh clicked his tongue at her, shaking his head. He adjusted his stance and folded his arms to show he wasn't going _anywhere_.

"Not 'til you tell me you accept my apology." Sam moaned and let her head fall back, irritatedly.

"Josh, _seriously_. Just _leave_ me _alone!_ " She watched as his expression shifted from cocky to concerned, his eyebrows narrowing.

"Sam, c'mon. Don't be like that. I won't be able to sleep tonight knowing you're mad at me. Please." Sam stared at his face, seemingly unconvinced as she chewed on her cheek. He could tell she was trying to determine his sincerity.

"You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that?"

" _Definitely_ ," he nodded. A smile crooked his lips again and reached his eyes, this time. He leaned in toward her, "but doesn't just a _little_ part of you like that, Sammy?" Sam shifted on her feet, straightening her posture.

"Not particularly…"

"In all seriousness… that was a dick move. And I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me. It will taint my memory of our first kiss forever and I'd hate to live with that." Sam felt herself smirk despite herself, so she hurled a punch into his shoulder.

" _Quit_ it. You're never serious," she accused.

"I'm dead serious, Sam," he told her in a tone that was far too flat to be anything but the truth. She swallowed after a moment, giving him a little nod.

"Okay. Fine. I guess I forgive you," she said quietly.

"Oh, you guess?"

"I forgive you," she repeated with more conviction. He looked relieved. "Can I take a bath now? _Please?_ " Josh reached for the hem at the bottom of his shirt, lifting it slightly.

"Okay, if you insist. Let's do this."

" _OUT_!" Sam shouted, shoving him back but still giggling. As she shut the door on him, Josh laughed too.

"Okay, I'll take a raincheck. Next time!"

" _Goodbye_ , Josh," he heard her call through the door. Josh just shook his head and chuckled to himself before heading downstairs to rejoin the party.

_ _ _ _ 

Beth approached Hannah's open bedroom door and lightly rapped on it. She could see Hannah sitting on the end of her bed hugging onto a pillow while Chris leaned uncomfortably against Hannah's dresser. She could imagine Hannah had just given him quite an earful and it showed on his face.

"Hey. Can I come in?" Beth asked, only for Hannah to squeeze onto the pillow tighter and look away from her sister. Without a definitive answer, Beth stepped inside the obnoxiously pink and purple room. "Listen, Hannah-"

"I can't believe you did that," Hannah interrupted, shaking her head sadly. Beth's eyes shifted from Chris to Hannah and back. She swallowed nervously, knowing Hannah could really self-destruct when pushed.

"Chris, can you give us a minute?" Beth requested, and Chris couldn't seem to get out of the room fast enough once he'd actually been given permission. Hannah sat in silence, feeling hurt and betrayed by the _one_ person she was supposed to trust more than anything. Beth ventured further into the room, sitting beside Hannah even though she knew Hannah wished she'd just go away.

"Look… I know you're upset. But Hannah, you _have_ to understand-"

"No, _you_ need to understand!" Hannah snapped back, standing abruptly and tossing her pillow aside. "I know you don't ' _get it'_ because you don't care about relationships or love o-or _anything_ , for that matter! But you had no right to set Mike up with Emily!"

"Oh, my _God!_ " Beth exclaimed, running her fingers through her hair and lightly clenching. "Do- do you even _hear_ yourself, right now? Mike is a big boy, he makes his own decisions!"

"No, he _doesn't!_ Not without the opinion of his _BFF_ , Beth!" Hannah scoffed, stomping to the other side of the room and away from her sister.

"Hannah, don't you think if Mike _wanted_ to date you, he would?!" Beth shot back. She tried to ignore the hurt on Hannah's face when she said that, but her sister needed to hear it. She was tired of catering to her delusional fantasies - it was really going to get her hurt one day. "You're acting like a little brat! Grow. Up. You're going to meet hundreds of thousands of guys in your life! Mike is just one! You need to _let it go!_ "

"Get out!" Hannah demanded, pointing towards her bedroom door.

"You're going to need to face it, sometime, Hannah," Beth said, her voice softer now. But the damage had been done.

"I said get out!" Hannah repeated, tears dangerously close to spilling over. Knowing there was no reasoning with her when she was like this, Beth stood, heading towards her sister's door.

"You know I'm right," Beth told her, simply. "I'm sorry Hannah. But you need to move on."

* * *

 

_**March 1st, 2013 - Washington House** _

"I have something to tell you."

Beth turned her head toward Mike when he said this. They were sitting up in her bed watching a pretty awesome movie, and it was just getting to a good part, so she knew Mike really had something for her.

"Hit me."

"Emily and I officially started dating."

Beth instantly broke into a large smile and she grabbed his arm and shook him in her excitement, "Finally! I'm so happy for you! Tell me how it happened."

Mike grinned at her enthusiasm, "Geez, Beth, _chill._ You're acting like a fangirl."

She pinched him under his armpit and felt accomplished when he yelped in pain, "Tell me. How it happened."

He rubbed his sore spot, "Well I don't think you deserve to know now, but...well, yeah, there's really nothing to tell. We feel like we hit it off and wanted to see where this could go."

"What did you say to her? You know you should have filtered it through me first. You probably messed the whole thing up."

"I made sure to tell her that you and I are best friends and that she's not allowed to get jealous of how close we are."

Beth pinched him again, her eyes wide, "That's the kinda shit I'm talking about!"

He narrowed his eyes at her, holding his hand over his sensitive skin now, " _Jesus_ hairy yellow snowballs! That's not what you're supposed to do! You're supposed to say-," Mike raised his voice to his feminine impersonation, "Oh, Michael, that's the sweetest thing _ever,_ please friend-marry me!"

"In your dreams." Beth ignored his mocking tone, "What did Emily say?"

Mike shrugged, "She just said that she knew that and that she just wanted to be with me."

"Aww…" Beth smiled and cocked her head to the side, "See? That's the kind of thing you deserve to hear, no matter what stupid shit you say."

After Mike left, however, the gravity of the situation began to weigh down on Beth like a boulder. It was Friday night… Hannah only had two blissful, unaware days until Monday morning came and at school the news would really hit her - that is, if she didn't find out some other way first.

Beth's stomach was in knots as she tried to come up with the best way to let Hannah know, gently. People had a habit of shooting the messenger in situations like this and even now Hannah had barely spoken to Beth since the Lodge party. She figured all her sister needed was time, but this whole sulking act had been going on for a whole month now.

' _Whatever_ ,' she thought to herself, sucking in a breath. She needed to just go down into the rec room and tell her - it was just like ripping off a bandaid. Maybe now Hannah would finally get the closure she needed to put Mike behind her.

Beth wasn't too excited, however, to see that Hannah wasn't alone when she found her. Josh, Sam, Chris and Hannah were all in the middle of a game of Go-Fish when Beth came in. Of course Josh quickly invited Beth to join, but she politely declined.

"Um… Hannah?" she started out timidly, but Hannah wouldn't even look at her. She merely kept her back to her and let out a short, uninterested, ' _hmm?_ ' Beth felt her nerves growing and for a moment reconsidered just letting Hannah find out for herself. She would be fine. Eventually. She couldn't stay mad at her forever… right?

"Hannah, can we talk for a minute?" Beth tried again, ignoring the rest of group's concerned faces.

"You alright, B?" Josh asked, particularly troubled by Beth's demeanor. Beth gave him a quick nod to ease his worry. She reached forward to tap Hannah's shoulder.

"Hann, seriously. I need to talk to you-"

"You can talk to me here," Hannah said flatly, still not even so much as turning to look at her sister. Beth felt fiery anger flare through her - was Hannah really so stubborn that she would act like this? And in front of _everyone?_

"Hannah-" Sam began wearily, ever the diplomat. But Beth had enough of this.

"I think we should talk in private," Beth said, trying not grit her teeth. Hannah finally whipped around in her chair, facing Beth.

"I _said_ you can just tell me here, why is it that big of a deal?" Hannah snapped, laughing nervously at the end when she realized how rude her tone came out in front of company. "Seriously. What do you want?"

Beth stared at their uneasy faces, her jaw clenching as she swallowed.

_Fine, Hannah. You asked for it._

"Mike has a girlfriend," she spat out. It took a few seconds for the words to process in Hannah's mind, and when they did Beth watched as her eyes softened and glazed over, her lip ever-so-slightly quivering. "Emily. Emily is Mike's girlfriend, now. So..."

Beth could see Josh, Chris and Sam brace themselves for the worst. But instead of enduring Hannah's inevitable wrath, they were all just there, sitting in a horrible, awkward, painful silence.

Beth cleared her throat, shifting her weight on her feet uncomfortably, "Uh yeah. So. There. Thought you should know. You know. From someone who _loves_ and cares about you instead of finding out, like online or someth-"

"Why… why are you doing this?" Hannah asked with the smallest sob in her throat. Beth's eyes widened, her cheeks hot and her breath short.

"What-?"

"A-are you just trying to hurt me?" Hannah wondered, and Beth felt herself almost topple over at the accusation. She searched the other's faces for some kind of reassurance, but they all just gazed down at their cards, uncomfortably.

"What? Are you serious? Hannah, _of course_ not-"

"Why would you tell me that, then?"

"I told you because I thought you needed to know!" Beth nearly cried. She wanted to. Of course her intentions were misconstrued - why had she ever thought this was a good idea? Even if it _was_ the right thing to do.

"Well. Thanks," Hannah said curtly, giving her sister a tight-lipped smile that was hardly sincere. She dropped her cards on the table, standing abruptly. "No, really. I appreciate the heads up-"

"You are kidding, right?" While Beth was still slightly dumbfounded, she was surprised Hannah was handling the news so calmly. "You can't possibly be mad at me over this-"

"Hey no. It's cool," she gave a small shrug. "As long as Mike's not pining of _you_ anymore, right? At least now you can just be friends with him without constantly leading him on-"

"Hannah!" Sam scolded, and she could hear Josh grumble, 'not cool, Hann,' after. Beth stepped toward her sister angrily, getting close to her face.

"That is so _not_ fair. I have told you a million times that I have _no_ feelings for Mike in that way, nor do I want to. It is not _my_ fault the bottle landed on Emily that night and not on you-" Beth defended.

"Hey. No, it's cool. The bottle was just agreeing with what you'd been saying for months, right?" Hannah quoted. Beth's mouth dropped open to respond, but nothing would come out. "I'm going to bed," Hannah announced, turning to head to her bedroom.

* * *

 

_**May 23rd, 2013 - Prom** _

The next few months had been uncomfortable, at best. Hannah hadn't gotten over Mike and Emily dating, and she certainly hadn't gotten over her sister not just encouraging it, but maybe even facilitating the conditions for their relationship to exist.

But that couldn't matter, today.

It was the day of prom and, even though a few of them were actually going as dates (Mike and Emily, and Ashley and Matt), they all decided to go as a large group of friends. Beth made sure to take plenty of pictures. One of her favorites it when she told her four of her most favorite people in the world to be in a photo together: Hannah, Sam, Mike, and Emily. She swore she would cherish it forever.

Beth kept telling Hannah how pretty she looked but that she needed to smile more and at least pretend to have a good time for everyone else's sake. But Hannah only gave her a fast smile in a bratty sort of way. Beth only shook her head. Even though they had fought back in February, Hannah still blamed her for rooting for Mike and Emily. Beth wished she would just get over it already, but she knew her sister could hold a grudge for a long time. When Beth first chopped off her hair, Hannah stayed upset with her for over two months.

And as much as Beth wanted to call truce with Hannah, she didn't have the patience for it tonight. She just wanted to have a good time. And she really loved how Sam stayed by her side so much. Even Sam was having a hard time dealing with Hannah's attitude. Jessica wasn't helping matters any, as she overly complimented how great Mike and Emily looked together.

But actually getting to prom, where they could all start mingling with other school acquaintances, helped. Matt started talking to a lot of his football friends, so Ashley stayed with Hannah. Hannah allowed herself to talk about some of her frustrations with Ashley since Ashley seemed so willing to listen and agree with her.

At some point during the night, Mike came over to Beth and Sam and asked Beth to dance. Beth shot a quick glance over to Hannah, but then quickly took Mike's hand. She hated having to worry about what Hannah was thinking or feeling.

"You look very handsome tonight," Beth said with a grin, straightening his bowtie.

"You ain't so bad yourself, gorgeous," Mike flattered, his hand feeling warm against her bare back. They swayed to the song for a few beats before he asked, "Why don't you ask Sam to dance?"

"I...thought about it," Beth admitted, glancing over to Sam who seemed to be enjoying a moment by herself at the punch bowl.

Mike grinned and leaned down to her ear, "She would be a fool to say no."

Beth eyed him, clearly saying _You're my best friend, you have to say that._

And he said _Damn fucking right._

As they danced, Jessica made her way over to Emily, her skin tight dress leaving little to the imagination. "I'm _sooo_ jealous of their relationship."

Emily looked at Jess, watching the blonde eye up Mike and Beth, "They're just friends."

Jessica laughed sarcastically, almost like she was mocking Emily's pathetic view, "Oh, Em...they might be... _for now._ But _all_ the best love stories start out with people like them. Don't you think?"

Emily eyed her wearily, "What are you trying to say?"

But Jess only shrugged, "Just lookin' out for you. I would hate to see you get heartbroken."

Turning away to grab herself a cup of water, Emily tried her best to ignore Jessica and her assumptions. Mike was straight with her from the get go about what he had with Beth. Sure, there were times that she knew Mike cancelled their plans because he was going to hang out with Beth instead, but she also did that a few times to him. It wasn't like she didn't have friends of her own.

Still.

Emily looked over her shoulder to see how tightly Mike was holding onto Beth.

Jessica walked by Hannah and Ashley, asking a simple, "Who you more jealous of?"

With a little more pushing from Mike, Beth finally asked Sam to dance.

"You haven't danced a single time yet tonight," Beth urged, holding out her hand, "I know it's not really your thing, but...want to make it your thing at least once? With me?"

Sam gave a tight smile, her first instinct to say no. And it wasn't even about Beth being the one asking her to dance. Sam didn't give two shits what anyone else thought of her or what she did, she just really hated to be a part of something like this. She only agreed to actually go to prom to support Hannah, but Hannah was hard to talk to when she was in a fowl mood. But Beth looked so hopeful that Sam didn't have the heart to turn her down.

So she grabbed onto Beth's hand firmly and led her to the dancefloor. As soon as Beth placed her hands on Sam's shoulder and waist, she could hear Mike cheering from all the way across the room.

"Idiot…" she mumbled, but secretly thanked him from the bottom of her heart for being her person that cheered her on no matter what.

"So how's Josh been doing?" Sam asked after a brief moment of nothing but the song, "It's still sometimes weird not having him around all the time."

It was obvious that Sam was just trying to make light conversation, but it kind of hurt that she would bring up Josh during their dance. But Beth didn't want it to get to her, "He's fine. Actually passing his classes, surprise surprise!"

The two girls laughed and fell into a comfortable silence. Sam looked around the room and Beth did too, momentarily, but then got the courage to look straight ahead into Sam's green eyes.

"You look amazing tonight, by the way," Beth let out, hoping that she wasn't blushing as much as it felt like she was.

Sam blinked and then was looking into Beth's deep black eyes and it felt like she was looking into an abyss. Smiling, Sam chuckled softly and looked away, too embarrassed to say anything. She then noticed that a lot of people were staring at them.

"Why are they all looking?"

Beth didn't even look away from her, just grinned and said, "Because we look so good together."

Sam's heart fluttered to her throat; the feeling scared her and she abruptly dropped her hands from Beth and stepped back. Beth's arms hung at her sides as well, waiting for Sam to call her out for what she was, but then Sam cocked her head to the side, "Let's go get a drink."

* * *

 

_**September 19th, 2013 - Washington House** _

It was the night before everyone was due to be heading off to college (or back to college, for Josh and Chris). Josh was actually excited that everyone else had retired early to get ready, and it was just himself and Chris. They were lounging in the family room drinking the last of the beers, basking in the feeling of being home and not having to share common areas with a million other students.

"Meet any lovely ladies?" Josh turned the subject from planning their next lodge meeting to Chris' love life, something Chris always thought he showed a little too much interest in.

"Not really," Chris admitted, "Freshman year was a little rough. Most of the girls I think I could like don't seem all that interested in school."

Josh chuckled, "Because they want to _party!_ You're supposed to take them out and show 'em a good time."

"Oh, and is that what you do?" Chris shot back with a smirk.

"Um, _hell yes!_ I don't wanna brag, but college girls really seem to dig my grungy, broody personality. Say the right thing just once, and they're ready to go."

Chris swirled the bottle around in his hand, wondering if what Josh was saying was true. He grew up with Josh; he knew how far he could stretch the truth at times, not that he faulted him for that. But Chris never really pretended to want more than a normal relationship, where he could call just one girl his steady girlfriend and be happy with it.

"What about Sam?" Chris asked casually.

Josh took a long drink, waving his free hand about, "Relax. I'm laying the groundwork, bro. All in due time. We have to get a little more life experience under our belts before we can see eye to eye."

Chris couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. He could never tell how serious Josh was about Sam, and even when he asked him if he kept joking about it to cover up what he really felt, Josh only followed up with even more joking.

Before the conversation could continue any further, the two heard shouting trickling down from upstairs.

"Is that Hannah and Beth?" Chris wondered with surprise. Growing up, he rarely heard them fight. When he heard them arguing earlier that year at the lodge, he thought that would be the worst it would ever get. Apparently, it didn't end there. They had definitely seemed strained this last year, but everyone figured they just needed time and space.

"What the hell is this about, now?" Josh seemed just as shocked to hear them, but deep down he already knew the answer - there was only one thing his sisters fought about, and he'd had about enough of it. He jumped over the back of the couch and ran up the stairs to assess the situation. The girls were in Beth's room, and he was almost deafened by the shrill screams that were mostly coming from Hannah.

"I can't believe how _selfish_ you've become!" Hannah yelled at Beth, her face bright red and her fists clenched.

" _Me?!"_ Beth said with shock and disdain, " _You're_ the one that's only ever thinking about yourself! ' _Oh, poor me. Poor me! I'll be forever alone if I can't have-'._ "

" _You're_ the one that's always bringing him around and hanging on him, _even after he got a girlfriend!"_

"How many times do I have to _tell_ you-!"

"Enough!" Josh stepped in between them, his arms outstretched to direct them to their separate corners, "This has gone on for _way_ too long! What has gotten into you two?"

Hannah stepped forward and glared at Beth, "She's always accusing me of doing the _exact_ same things she's doing!"

" _Accusing_ you?" Beth laughed maniacally, "You are _so_ o-."

"Seriously, _stop_ it!" Josh used his deeper voice to talk over them, "Are you guys really arguing like this over some stupid _guy_? And here I thought I had the two coolest sisters ever."

"There wasn't a problem until Beth started to-."

"I didn't _start_ anything!"

Hannah's emotions started getting the best of her, and tears sprang to her eyes. Jealousy, anger, and disappointment emitted from her. "I can't believe you," she choked out before turning on her heel and leaving the room. She hated that she always cried during argument...she could never win.

Josh watched her go before turning to Beth, his mouth open in shock, "I've never seen you like this."

Beth raised her hands in the air, "Really? What am I being like?"

"You're not being empathetic toward Hannah like you've always been," Josh said, taking a step back to show her that he didn't want to argue with her either, "And you _know_ our sister. She needs that…"

"Yeah, well, maybe it's time _we stop babying her!_ " Beth yelled past Josh, hoping her words trailed down the hall and hit Hannah before she locked herself in her bedroom. Josh took his sister's shoulders, pushing her back a bit and forcing her gaze to meet his. "What!" Beth snapped, shrugging his hands off her.

Josh's eyes were huge, the way they always got when he was faced with confrontation, "whoa, dude… what is your _deal?_ "

"I just- I'm tired of her always sulking around. It's been like seven months! She needs to get over it."

"No, Mike and Emily have been _dating_ for seven months. Her insane crush on Mike has gone on much longer and you know that-"

"Josh-" Beth growled, about to scold him for scolding _her_ over the technicality. Josh grabbed her shoulders again and gave her a light shake.

"Hey! Chill out, dude! I'm not saying I disagree, but, _Beth…_ you can't just force someone not to have feelings for someone. A-and it's not like _you're_ helping the situation."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"You _always_ have him around. It's just twisting the knife, you know?" Beth wiped her dark bangs from for forehead, suddenly hot and clammy.

"Oh, okay, so I'm just supposed to stop being friends with Mike because Hannah can't handle herself?" she shot back at him.

The irony in her words was not lost on her, since in reality she'd been harboring a dangerous crush on Sam for a while now. Hannah having her around all the time didn't make it any easier, either. Especially when she'd catch Josh trying to flirt with her or, more rarely, thought she saw Sam flirting back. It was really beginning to wear on her, and worse, it was making her feel animosity toward Josh for actually standing a chance with her. She really had no room to come down on Hannah over the exact same thing.

Josh's shoulders slumped as he thought for a moment, giving her a little shrug, "I mean… _no_. But you could be a little more sensitive. You know Hannah's always felt things too hard. She can't help the way she feels…"

Beth listened to her brother's words, realizing that not only was he right about her and Mike, but he was outlining her own frustrations as well. She'd always prided herself on being so balanced and not letting emotions get the better of her. Truth was, when it came to Sam, Beth really wasn't much better than Hannah at this point - she was just better at hiding.

"I get it. I do," Beth admitted, finally calming herself down.

"Good. Now let's just...move on, alright?" Josh said, albeit a bit naively. He and Chris had had little fights here and there over the years, and the whole "let's just move on" sentiment always worked for them, but Beth knew she would probably have to make a real effort with Hannah to be able to _move on_ from here _._ "We're all leaving for college soon… is this how you want to leave things?" Beth opened her mouth to speak, but instead just shook her head sadly.

Tomorrow, Beth and Hannah would be three hours and 200 miles away from each other - it came up so fast she hadn't even had time to anticipate it. Had they really just spend the last months they had together in a stupid fight?

Then it dawned on her - it might have been a stupid fight to Beth, but it was never stupid to Hannah. And that was the problem.

Josh hugged her before leaving her room, not wanting to be in her space anymore. He could tell he'd given her a lot to think about. He walked back downstairs to see a still fuming Hannah pacing back and forth. Chris was sitting on the arm of the couch, once again a silent sounding board for all of Hannah's woes.

"...I mean, you get it, right?" she asked Chris, not even awaiting his response before she kept rambling on, "of course you do. What with Ashley and all… I think you might be the _only_ one who _actually_ gets it. How's that going by the way?"

"No wonder I didn't hear your bedroom door slamming," Josh joked before Chris could answer Hannah's question. He walked right past them and went into the kitchen to get another beer.

"See! He doesn't get it!" Hannah lamented to Chris dramatically, her arm outstretched in Josh's direction. "All you do is make jokes about _everything!"_ Hannah yelled toward the kitchen, still obviously far too upset for jokes. Without another word, she took off toward her bedroom up the stairs.

" _Hannah_ ," Chris tried, tiredly.

"Hey, I'm on your side!" Josh assured, calling after her up the stairs. He came back to the living room shaking his head. "Was it something I said?" He handed Chris a fresh beer.

Chris shook his head and slid down into the seat of the couch, "She's pretty bummed, man. And I thought I had it bad for Ashley. This Mike thing is straight up torturing her. She probably just needs to be alone."

"She was just down here with _you…_ "

"Yeah, but I know better than to say anything. You just gotta nod your head and let them run out of gas."

"Bro…" Josh pressed his palms together and bowed, "Teach me your silent ways."

Chris stood and mimicked his bow, "You have much to learn, young grasshopper."

* * *

 

_**December 20th, 2013 - Christmas Shopping** _

**Josh:** [1:32 pm]: Hungover. Not coming. Sry.

Hannah and Beth got the text at the exact same time as they waited in the foyer of the mall. The three Washington siblings had concrete plans to get their Christmas shopping out of the way now that they were all back home for Christmas break, but Josh was apparently bailing.

' _Shit,_ ' Beth cursed under her breath, side-glancing at Hannah, who seemed just as annoyed with the change in plans. They were both equally hoping Josh could act as a buffer in their awkward mall outing - the one which they both planned to pretend as though nothing had been wrong all this time.

Their phones beeped again:

 **Josh:** [1:33 pm]: Pick me up something for mom pls. Already got dad a watch.

"Should we just go home?" Hannah suggested quietly, hoisting her strap of her purse back up on her shoulder. Beth briefly considered it, but was tired of the two of them avoiding each other. They shared a womb, for God's sake. This was getting ridiculous.

"No. No, Hannah, c'mon," Beth said, turning to face her sister for what felt like the first time in forever. "It… it'll be fun," she said, trying not to wince. Hannah crooked an eyebrow skeptically, highly doubting that could be true after the year they'd had. _God, had it already been almost a year?_

"Okay," Hannah relented, sliding her foot across the squeaky floor. She nodded, tucking her long hair behind her ear and forcing a small smile, "no, you're right. Let's just get this over with." She was referring to the Christmas shopping, but the double meaning was not lost on either of them.

The two girls turned and walked silently through the busy mall, the sound of bad Christmas carols almost drowned out over the hustle and bustle of the last minute shoppers. They each thought desperately for something to say, anything, but nothing would come. It felt so foreign, like they'd forgotten what it was like to be sisters. Beth led them into an expensive boutique with things their mom might like.

"How's school?" Beth finally settled on, generically. Hannah glanced at Beth for a moment before she cleared her throat.

"Um… it's good," was her vague reply.

"Enjoying your classes?" Hannah nodded, so Beth pushed on, "What classes are you taking next term?"

"Uh…" Hannah looked to the ceiling, trying to remember. "I'm finishing off my prerequisites, so… I have Algebra 95, an art class for fun, then I have Intro to Writing a research paper - which will really suck because I heard the final in that class is a 30 page paper-"

"Ouch. Do you already know what you want your topic to be?"

"I was thinking of doing a deconstruction of Romeo and Juliet. Sam suggested something on the awfulness of SeaWorld. I haven't totally decided." Beth didn't respond to the mention of Sam's name, but it made her stomach do a flip. She was really hoping all this time away at separate colleges would help her feelings die down, and in a way, it did. While she was away at school, meeting new people and getting into college life, she had been distracted.

Being home, however, everything just came flooding back.

"Think mom would like this?" Hannah asked, holding up a cashmere sweater with pearl beading around the neck. Beth scrunched up her face and shook her head.

" _Nahhh_ ," the girls said in unison, giggling a bit afterward. Then, their phones beeped again.

 **Josh** [1:40pm]: pick me up something for Sammy-cakes too. I'll give u cash when u get home. Make it good.

"Is he serious?" Beth scoffed, but she already knew the answer. Of _course_ he was serious. She had a sneaking suspicion Josh convinced Hannah to buy Sam's gift every year. Hannah shrugged, however, not thinking much of it.

"How are _your_ classes going?" Hannah asked, sifting through the rack of mom sweaters and turtlenecks. "Meet anyone?"

"I've met lots of people," Beth replied evenly. "Why? Did _you?_ " Her smile grew exponentially when she saw Hannah's. She shoved the blouse she was looking at back on the rack. "Shut. Up. Tell me everything. What's his name?"

"It's no one," Hannah replied embarrassedly.

"Hmm… _No One_. What an exotic name. Is that... Filipino?" Beth joked. Hannah giggled, her head falling back.

"Stop. Really. His name is Darren and he's just someone I was studying with for a project last term…"

"... _Aaaaand?_ " Beth teased. She was almost giddy over the fact that her sister was maybe, _possibly_ , even slightly getting over her obsession with Mike. Maybe this next year was going to be a fresh start - maybe things could finally go back to normal. Afterall, nothing had been the same since the day Beth invited Mike over to their house.

"And _nothing_. Well, except… I was just thinking maybe he could… you know… come to our New Year's Eve party."

"Hannah, that's _amazing!_ " Beth said, sounding far too enthusiastic for her own liking, but she didn't care. This new development was such a welcome change from what she'd heard before that Beth had to encourage Hannah on.

"I've missed this," Hannah said meekly, her eyes peeking over her black-framed glasses as she continued to rummage through the clothing racks. Beth smiled without teeth, her heart and cheeks warming.

"Me too," she told her.

The girls went on, stopping at store after store for the perfect presents. They laughed, shared some frozen yogurt, and for the first time in forever just existed as Hannah and Beth - no drama, no fighting, just the two of them. As they sat in the food court, Hannah even wondered aloud if that had been Josh's plan all along, but the two just laughed and decided that even he wasn't scheming enough to think that plan through.

"Shit, it's getting late," Beth announced after looking down at the time on their cell phone. It was only almost 4 pm, but they had to be back to wrap presents before their friends came over for the annual 'Friendsmas' party at the Washington's at 6.

"Wait, we still gotta pick something up for Sam from Josh-" Hannah remembered. Beth waved her hand at her sister.

"His fault for not thinking ahead," she said, but she knew Hannah wouldn't drop it until they found something. Beth's head fell back and she let out a groan. "Fine. Let's just go in here and grab something," she said, pointing to the nearest stop. Hannah just stared at her blankly.

"That's a pet store."

"Sam loves animals, right?"

"C'mon," Hannah laughed, dragging Beth across the aisle toward another boutique. "We'll just get her something in here."

The two girls searched the store for something when Beth realized she needed something for Sam as well.

"What do you think of this bracelet? I think Sam would love it," Hannah suggested holding up a silver band - she was right, it was just Sam's style. Beth couldn't bear the idea of Josh getting it for her, so she leapt at the chance.

"No. No, I'll get that for her."

"What?" Hannah said, her face painted with confusion at Beth's strangeness over the exchange.

"I just… I need to get her something anyway, you know?" Hannah didn't say anything more, just handed the bracelet to Beth. Beth eyed a display of colorful scarves nearby. Deciding that a scarf might be the least romantic gift of all time, she pointed them out to Hannah, "How about a scarf from Josh?"

Hannah thought for only a moment before nodding in agreement, "yeah. Yeah, that could be good. Which color?" Beth stared at the selection before her eyes fixated on a deep, true red. She reached out and touched it - it was soft. She smiled.

"Red. Red's always been her color."

The girls hurried home and Josh seemed pleased with the scarf they chose for him. Beth explained to him why she picked red, and he just gave a shrug and went back to playing his xBox. Hannah and Beth hurried upstairs to wrap their presents, talk, and overall just enjoy one another's company. It felt like normal for the first time in longer than either could remember.

It was short-lived, however.

When the other friends arrived at the house for the Christmas party, Hannah's mood had soured again. Beth could tell she'd been trying, but Mike and Emily being all lovey-dovey (or, Emily being all over Mike, more specifically), was clearly wearing on her, regardless of possibly meeting someone new.

And Beth couldn't say she blamed her - Josh had spent the better half of the evening getting drunk on spiked eggnog and chasing Sam around with the mistletoe. Their little game of chase around the room quickly turned into Josh tackling her on the couch and tickling her while Sam giggled and claimed she wanted him to stop… yet she didn't look so angry when he stole a quick kiss anyway.

"That's sexual assault," Beth blurted flatly from behind her own drink.

"Josh, knock it _off_ ," Sam said through her laughter, wiping her mouth. It was just a quick peck, but it was enough to get Beth's mood a little sulky as well.

Luckily Mike seemed to notice, so he found his way over to Beth to try and cheer her up - it was almost working, until it came time to open up presents.

Sam loved her present from from Beth; she quickly slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and looked up at Beth with shining eyes as she thanked her. Beth, however, couldn't help but feel another pang of jealousy when Sam opened the scarf that Josh had apparently gotten her.

"I love it," Sam smiled at him, but there was just a little something more in that smile. She knew every time Sam wrapped that scarf around her she was going to be thinking about Josh and his 'thoughtful' gift. Before Beth could even say anything to interrupt their little moment, Josh took the words right out of her mouth.

"Red's always been your color, Sammy," Josh told her with a sort of mock shyness that made Beth want to smack him - and she hated, hated, _hated_ feeling this way. But even more, she hated the way he got up and walked to her, slipping the scarf from her hands and wrapping it sweetly around her neck as he told her dramatically, "And it pales in comparison to you."

"Oh hush it," Sam rolled her eyes pushing him in the shoulder. But she couldn't hide the blush on her cheeks.

That was the first time Beth really, truly saw it: the flash in Sam's eyes that said she might actually like him. That whatever Josh's strange feelings for her might be, there was a definite chance she felt it, too.

"Oh my God," Emily said loud enough that everyone's attention fell on her. She was sitting on Mike's lap, holding on to whatever gift he'd just unwrapped. "Who got you that?"

Mike checked the card, "uh… Hannah." He took the small object out of Emily's hands, admiring it. It was a silver zippo lighter with his name engraved on it - it certainly didn't look cheap. His eyes scanned the room until they rested on Hannah's nervous ones.

"Uh… yeah. You… you said your old one broke this summer. When we were at the beach trying to light that bonfire so…" she attempted to explain, but her nerves and being under everyone's eyes was making her squirm.

"Thanks… it's awesome…" Mike told her sincerely, not entirely sure how else to react. On one hand, he would never want to come across as ungrateful. It was a very thoughtful, cool gift. On the other hand, he felt like ever since this summer Emily had been growing increasingly jealous of the girls he was close with - particularly Beth, but more lately Hannah as well. He assumed it was from their relationship going long-distance with college, but he knew if he said the wrong thing, someone would get upset.

He didn't have to say anything for that to happen, however.

" _Jeeze_ … crush much?" Jess said lowly, but loud enough for most everyone to hear. Hannah's face went pale and she shot a glare at Beth, of all people, before storming out of the room. Beth stood abruptly, her fists clenched.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" Beth spat in Jessica's direction, who merely gazed back at her with large, innocent eyes.

"I was only kidding…"

Beth hurried after Hannah, finding her hiding out.

"Go away," she snapped, wiping away frustrated tears. Beth was caught off guard at her sister's hostility reemerging after such a wonderful day together. Her heart sank when Hannah looked at her and all that anger and animosity in her eyes had returned.

"Hannah, no. I'm just here to help-"

"You did enough when you let Jessica start coming to our parties," she spat. Beth set her jaw and grit her teeth, anger coursing through her at this repeat of history.

"That's it," Beth hissed, grabbing Hannah by the arm and yanking her toward the door to the back patio.

"Ouch! _Quit it!_ " Hannah whined, but Beth didn't stop. She dragged her with her outside, shutting the door behind them.

"When are you going to stop punishing me over Mike?!" Beth finally blurted when they got outside and away from the rest of the group. And for once, she felt real tears in her own eyes. "Wh-what did I ever do to you? Honestly?"

"Beth-"

"No!" Beth nearly shouted. "No, Hannah! I'm done doing this! I-I am _so_ tired of fighting with you over this. I finally feel like I got my sister back after all this time, and the moment we're around him it's like I just can't win. I don't know what to do… Tell me what to do!"

At first Hannah wanted to fight back, but instead Beth saw some kind of recognition flash in her sister's dark eyes, and after a moment Hannah was apologizing and pulling her in for a hug.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me," her voice cracked. She shook her head against Beth's, her own eyes filling with tears as well. She pulled away, wiping the wetness from under her glasses.

"It's okay-" Beth began, but Hannah was shaking her head again.

"No, it's not. I don't know why I'm this way. I don't want to be." Beth felt sympathy for her sister as she stood in front of her, hugging onto herself now as her tone curled into a beg. Beth knew Hannah didn't want to be lovesick, she hated that she couldn't help her. Hannah sniffled, shrugged. "I think I'm fine, and then I see him again I just… it's like I can't control the feelings and the anger. And I don't know why I always direct it at you," she admitted. Beth's shoulders sunk and she sighed, coming to stand beside her sister as they both leaned on the railing of the balcony.

"I know you don't mean to," Beth said, draping her arm over Hannah and resting her head on her shoulder. She'd battled her own jealousy and feelings tonight watching Sam open ' _Josh's_ ' present for her and it only grew when her face lit up and she loved it. Sure, she loved the bracelet too. But it wasn't the same.

"Promise me that we're not going to let this happen again," Beth said quietly. Hannah nodded, but Beth gave her sister a shake, "No. Promise me, Hannah. Because I can't keep doing this with you. Promise me that you are going to try to be stronger. And that you aren't going to let Mike, or Emily, or even Jessica make or break your day. It's not fair to me… but more than that? It's not fair to you, Hannah. This has to stop."

"Okay," Hannah breathed, her voice wavery and shaky, but strong. She knew that once again, her sister was right. "Okay. You're right. I promise. They will never do anything to hurt us and our relationship again."

* * *

_To Be Continued..._


	7. Unavoidable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: This chapter is still backstory - the events that lead to the night of the prank. The last one before we go back to present day.

 

_**New Year's Eve, December 31st, 2013** _

"H-hey Sam," Josh slurred softly, his cup of jungle juice up by his lips. Sam watched him sway in front of her. She continued munching on her carrot stick as they stood together by the table with all the snacks. " _Sammyyyy…_ "

" _Yeees_ Josh?" she replied after she'd finished her bite. It was another New Year's Eve at the Washington's. It was pretty much like _any_ holiday at the Washington's - overrun with drunk, horny teenagers.

It was obvious to Sam that Josh was much more drunk than anyone else there but that wasn't anything new. Josh was _usually_ the most drunk at the parties he hosted. Or attended. Or crashed.

"You know there are better things on that table than the rabbit food, right?" Sam smiled tightly and narrowed her eyes, wiggling her head and fake laughing. "Just Joshin' ya," he laughed. Josh reached out and caught himself on the table with his free hand to keep himself from wobbling.

"Yeah, that phrase _never_ gets old." Her words were dripping in sarcasm that went unnoticed by the eldest Washington sibling. He looked down his nose at his cup, trying to focus on the swirling, pink, mystery liquid. He, Chris and Mike had combined whatever they could find that would get everyone wasted. The concoction consisted of everything in his parent's liquor cabinet and some fruit punch. He tipped his cup in Sam's face. The odor burned her nose.

"This stuff's strong."

"I can tell," Sam chuckled, her hands reaching out to help stand him upright. "Slow down, buddy, or you're not gonna make it to midnight."

" _Buddyyyy_ ," Josh repeated with an acknowledging nod. "Yeah. Okay. Thanks… _pal_." He tapped her lightly on the shoulder with his fist. Sam wanted to act like she didn't hear the mockery in his voice, but Josh flirted with her or hit on her regularly. She was never too sure when he was being serious or being goofy… he was just… _Josh_.

"Do you need some water? Do you wanna lie down?" Sam asked when she saw his head lolling from side to side, his eyes glazed and heavily lidded. "Josh?" Her hand instinctively rested on his bicep.

"Only if you're gonna lay with me." He would have said it smoothly if he didn't slur the entire line and blend it all together into one garbled mess. Sam gave him another worried glance. He didn't like the way she fussed over him - Like she didn't believe he could take care of himself.

She went to ask him why he always drank this much but before she could he was asking her, "so…do you have a New Year's kiss, Sammy? Did you bring a date?" Sam's stomach swirled and her head felt heavy - and she wasn't even the one who was drunk. She could see as he stared down intensely at her where this was going.

"Noooo… when have I ever had a date, Josh?"

"There was that one hippie guy-"

"He was _not_ a hippie," Sam defended for the millionth time, rolling her eyes. None of them would ever let her live this story down.

"Hey, didn't that guy make his own deodorant?" Josh teased. Sam didn't want to tell him he was correct and that it never worked, so the guy always smelled slightly of BO and various herbs.

"What did you see in that guy, anyway?" Sam pressed her lips together thinly, snorting from her nose. She was getting embarrassed, which always made her seem like she was just getting angry.

"His _name..._ was _River._ And he wasn't a hippie he just chained himself to a tree," Sam blurted out, folding her arms across her chest. She hadn't even gotten past the first half of the sentence before Josh doubled over laughing. Sam tried to keep from laughing at his deep, cackley, stoner's laugh. It was infectious.

"Can we _please_ talk about something else?" she groaned, taking his red solo cup out of his hand before it spilled over. She took a big gulp then retched, "holy shit, Josh! That tastes like battery acid."

Sam felt the alcohol go to work instantly, warming her cheeks and relaxing her spine. She took another swig before she lost her nerve. Sam was never one to get drunk but she needed the buzz if she was going to be hanging out with a bunch of drunk buffoons all night

"...So then… no midnight kiss?" Josh went on when he regained composure, back to the pressing matter at hand. "Interesting… _interesting…_ "

"Uhh- _huh_... And what is so interesting about it?" Sam wondered and Josh gave her a famous, hardly-caring, Josh Washington shrug.

"I dunno I just thought that since _you_ didn't have anyone to kiss and I-"

"I didn't even do anything wrong!" Mike bellowed, cutting off Josh's words before he could get to the punchline. Josh and Sam turned to see what the commotion was just as Emily whizzed by the table and stomped off into the kitchen.

"Em! C'mon! Stop!" Mike called after her. He stopped chasing her and seemed to exhale a sigh of relief when she left the room completely. Josh glared at Mike for interrupting his moment, and Sam eyed him carefully.

"Oh. Hey guys," Mike greeted casually, grabbing a potato chip out of the bowl and crunching it in his mouth. "What's up?"

" _Miiiiike_ …. What'd ya do?" Sam accused. His eyes widened and he snapped his head in Sam's direction, perplexed by the phrasing of her question.

"What! Me? Why is it always _me_ who gets blamed?"

"Because you're standing here eating chips and she's the one storming off," Josh observed, flatly. Sam grinned at his logic. Mike waved his hand dismissively toward the direction Emily had just ran.

"Oh, she's always mad about something," Mike reasoned, blowing the notion off. He swiftly snatched the red cup out of Sam's hand before tipping it back and polishing off the contents.

" _Hey_!" Josh and Sam said in unison, but Sam glanced over at Josh.

"Eh, I think you're good, hombre. You've got a _mad_ case of the wobbles…" she half-joked.

"Well anyways, Sam and I were talking about something impor-" Josh tried, but Sam cut him off.

"What was she so mad about, anyways?" Josh gave up, walking off dejectedly to go refill a cup of jungle juice. Sam glanced over her shoulder at him, half tempted to intervene, but decided to let Josh be Josh. Mike sighed, rolling his eyes as he stuffed his hands in his back pockets.

"Uhhh… Facebook."

"I'm pretty pissed about Facebook, too," Josh quipped from the punch bowl a few feet away. " _Buncha fuckin' phonies…_ " he added under his breath. Mike and Sam still snickered a bit when they heard it.

"Okay, that's pretty vague. What _about_ Facebook?"

"I haven't like… accepted her thingy to be _in a relationship_ ," he air quoted and lowered his voice for dramatic effect. "And anyways it got her all pissy. It's fine. It's stupid."

"Haven't you guys been together for like a year now?" Josh wondered, his mouth full of chips now. Mike ran his fingers through his hair, exasperatedly and gave another shrug.

"Yeah, but… it never bothered her before, so…"

"Oh… _well…_ " Sam said, trying to find a way to defend Emily, but really couldn't because things like that didn't matter to her like they did other girls. This was exactly why Sam never talked about her feelings - half the time she wondered if she even _had_ any.

Mike's phone dinged loudly from his jacket pocket. He pulled it out, knowing full well that it was just going to be a huge, long-winded, angry text from Emily. He scanned the screen for a moment and then growled.

"What does it say?" Sam asked. Mike tossed his phone into the pot of one of the house plants and stepped away from it, looking annoyed.

"Nothin'. Doesn't matter. I'm gonna go get some fresh air." Without another word, Mike breezed past Sam and out the opposite way Emily had just torn through. He stumbled a bit on his way out, and Sam could tell he was pretty drunk now, too. Curiosity got the better of her and she slinked over to the potted plant to fetch Mike's phone.

"Shame, shame, I know your _naaaame…_ " Josh sang from behind her. He poked her teasingly in the side. Sam smacked his hand away as she snooped.

"Shhh!" she hushed him with a giggle as she read the text from Emily.

 **Emily** [11:41 pm]: _If you can't even acknowledge me as your gf on fb, then u don't need me as your gf IRL. Fuck u, Mike!_

"Is that like… another language or something?" Josh asked from behind her and she couldn't help but smirk at the weight of his chin resting on her shoulder, his breath circling her ear.

"Basically," Sam laughed, shrugging him off of her.

" _Yeeeeesh_. Glad I'm not Mike…" Josh talked into his newly refreshed cup of alcohol. Sam snapped the cup from his hand before he could take another swig.

"I think we all do," she strained to say through the burning down her throat. Then, she turned to go join the rest of the party before Josh could talk about complicated things like New Year's Eve kisses.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Mike shoved open the side door leading out onto the Washington's back porch. He cursed angrily under his breath, and then he ran his hands roughly down his face, unbuttoning the top of his plaid shirt so he could breathe. He noticed a dog toy on the edge of the porch and kicked it hard out into the yard. He couldn't see where it landed but he heard the faint squeak in the distance when it did. And then he wondered when the Washington's ever had a dog.

"Hey, what did he ever do to _you?_ " Mike jumped nearly five feet in the air when he heard a voice call out to him from behind him on the porch.

"Oh my stars and garters," Mike blurted. He could hear a giggle in return. He strained his eyes to see in the dark. The porch was dark and the shadows and the alcohol were making it hard to see faces. "Who is that?" he asked, closing the gap between them. Hannah was sitting on the railing of the porch, a cup of their crazy concoction in her hand.

"You say the weirdest stuff sometimes," she jibed, shaking her head and taking a sip. Her ice had melted and watered down her drink but it still packed a punch. "Where'd that even come from, anyway?"

Mike was taken aback - in all the time he'd known her, Hannah had never been this relaxed around him. He cleared his throat and took a step forward, trying to see her face a little better. She didn't have her glasses on. She looked just like Beth but… different somehow. Her eyes were dreamier. There was more of a softness about her that he hadn't noticed before.

"My uh… my grandpa, actually. Ol' gramps Munroe."

"Ah. So it's an inherited trait then," she speculated. "Got it."

"Yeah...he always had the funniest sayings and I took a couple from him made some of my own. It's actually pretty involuntary, if you must know," he reasoned, kicking a leaf around a bit in front of him. "So… why are you out here? _All_ alone…" Hannah swung her leg around to face him, still balancing on the wooden railing of the porch. "Should you really be up there?"

"I'm fine. Mind your business," was Hannah's sharp reply. "I just wanted some time alone," she added. Mike couldn't help but wonder by her tone if she was telling him the truth - it didn't matter. She didn't have to tell him anything she didn't want to. He stepped forward before turning his back against the railing and leaning beside her.

Hannah came back to reality when her heart began to race and she realized that she and Mike were completely alone. In the dark. Talking. Moments like these didn't happen often. And of course this moment just had to exist only days after she decided to give up her crush on Mike and never let him cloud her mind or come between her and Beth again. She felt a small tinge of guilt that she was even alone out here with him right now, after her recent breakthrough with her sister. It was like hanging out at a heroin dealer's house once you're finally clear.

And yet… she couldn't stop herself for wanting it to go on just a little longer.

"You?" she asked when she realized she hadn't yet.

"I guess I could say the same," he replied ambiguously, also not wanting to divulge everything. They both sat in the quiet for a moment, listening to the party raging inside. They definitely heard Josh's low voice yell something out, probably announcing shots. Hannah worried that one day she'd find him dead of alcohol poisoning if he didn't get it under control.

"Hey!" Mike suddenly exclaimed, causing Hannah to almost fall back off the ledge. Luckily she caught herself as Mike went on. "Beth said you had a uh… a date coming tonight? Where is he?" Hannah simply grinned back at him before shaking her head at her failed attempt to move on. "Whaaaat? Lame. Sorry, Hann." He'd never said her name like that before. It made the butterflies in her stomach extra fluttery.

"Yup. He bailed," she sighed. She didn't want to go further into it, and Mike could tell, so he left it alone. Her stare at him darkened, and she nudged him slightly in the arm, causing his gaze to reach hers. "Why are you really out here?" she asked lowly. He sighed, and then the sigh tapered off into a groan.

"Why do you _think?_ "

"Emily," they said in unison, and Hannah wasn't sure if she was annoyed at the mention of her name, or excited about the fact that he was out here with her. Whatever the case, it couldn't be something good if he was hiding out.

"She's just being… _difficult_."

"What else is new," fell out of Hannah's mouth before she could stop it. Her hand snapped up to her mouth as she hid behind it.

"Wow, you are like a different person tonight," Mike observed, narrowing his eyes and nodding his head in approval. What he wanted to note, but didn't, was that she was a lot like Beth tonight. "I kinda dig it." Hannah was glad it was dark so he couldn't see how red that made her cheeks. "Tell me more about what you think about my life, Hannah." Hannah swallowed, shaking her head.

"No, I don't… I mean, I can't-"

"Oh, don't do that. Don't go back to being shy, little Hannah. I wanna hear what you have to say."

"Whyyyy are you even with her?" she blurted out suddenly, almost too loud for the quiet conversation they were having before. Mike raised his eyebrows in surprise, nodding.

"Okay. Yeah. Just gonna… jump right in there…" he stammered, but he was simply stalling and they both knew that. Hannah's expectant eyes remained locked in on his face. "She… ya know… makes me... _happy_ …?" Mike tried to come up with a coherent response. He had been asking himself the same question far too often lately with no luck.

"Oh yeah, you seem _reeeeally_ happy all the time," Hannah drawled as she hopped off of the ledge and onto the porch. Mike's forehead creased. Now that sounded a lot like Beth.

"What does _that_ mean?" Hannah bit her tongue. She'd gone and done it. She went too far and said too much and now she'd gone and upset him. She was silently kicking herself.

"Nothing, just… nevermind," she backtracked. Mike was nearing her now and her heart was in her throat.

"No. _Tell_ me. I want your opinion."

" _Mine_?" Hannah's voice cracked, but she knew the answer. No one else was there.

"Yes. _Your_ opinion."Mike stared down at her, his angular face hard and intense. He looked like an action movie star… but Hannah needed to not get caught up in those kinds of thoughts right now.

"You just… you don't seem happy, Mike. And I know she's pretty and smart and she was popular in school and stuff but if you're not happy, what's the point?" She looked up at him and Mike had never noticed how big her eyes were, so deep and hopeful.

"I know it sounds dumb but, it's hard being perfect, you know?" Hannah cocked an eyebrow, completely taken aback by his douchey response. He seemed to notice it, too, so he quickly corrected it. "I just mean I have to look good and have a lot of friends and get good grades and-" His words trailed off. "And did you know that if I don't get my pre-reqs done next term it will put me back almost an entire year?"

"What does this have to do with-"

"She's part of it all, you know? It's a persona, Hannah. None of it is real. I've gotta keep it up because it's been going on so long. It's like, somewhere along the way I created this monster and now I have to feed him and keep him going or else…"

"What?" Hannah said, stepping closer to him and bravely reaching for his arm. "Or else _what_ , Mike? Or else you'll feel like you're not _cool?_ "

"Or else I'll feel like I'm not _anything._ "

Those words felt like a punch in the gut to both of them. It was hard for Hannah to hear someone she admired so much thinking that way about himself. It was hard for Mike to actually say it aloud.

"I know it sounds insane and all but I feel like I have to be perfect all the time and I'm so fucking tired."

"Mike…" Hannah breathed, her heart actually aching a bit in her chest. She'd never seen him be vulnerable. Ever. Her plan for getting over him was down the toilet now, especially after seeing his softer side. It actually made her kind of angry at him for making her feelings even deeper. "Mike, you're _faaaar_ from perfect." Once again, Hannah had this weird way of surprising him by saying the last thing he expected.

"Oh. Well, thanks." She laughed, shaking her head and cradling it in her hands.

"Nonono, I know how that sounds, I didn't mean it like that I just mean…" She stopped and took in a deep breath. She smirked, wetting her lips. "Did you know that one of your ears is bigger than the other?" Mike's hands shot up to feel his ears.

"What?" he snapped. "No they aren't!" Hannah was laughing harder now, watching him worry.

"Don't worry, it's not that obvious but once you notice it, you can't _miss_ it." Mike crossed his arms, mocking her laugh back at her. It just made her laugh harder.

"Ha ha okay, very funny-"

"And you're arrogant-"

"No I'm not!" he gasped, but Hannah nodded.

"Yeah. You _really_ are. And you're not as smart as you think you are. You're _lucky._ You're charming. But I know you freak out whenever we have a test. You bite down your pencils 'til they are just disgusting and practically unusable-"

"I don't think I like this conversation anymore," Mike pouted, his eyebrows low.

"And you're weak, sometimes. You try to impress everyone and make them laugh but in turn you do things that might hurt others. You're _so_ desperate for approval."

"Drunk Hannah is… _brutal.,_ " Mike said after a moment of digesting everything. The truth was, he liked it. He liked it because it wasn't just another person telling him what he wanted to hear. It was what he loved most about Beth, and having Hannah look so much like her and be saying these things made it even harder.

Hannah took another swig of her jungle juice. She hardly gagged this time as it went down, even though it burned her throat.

"But I appreciate your honesty, I guess," he told her, and Hannah just stared at him, feeling another chuckle escape her throat. She didn't know why, but all this talk was making her eyes well up. She didn't know if she was happy or sad, but she was glad this was happening.

"Mike, don't you get it? You're not perfect-"

"Yeah, no. I know. You said that-"

"Would you just stop talking? I'm trying to say something," she snapped. Mike held back another smirk at her seriousness. "You're not perfect. But… I like those things about you as much as I like the things that are perfect, you know? It would be boring if you had no faults. I think it's our faults are what make us beautiful." Mike felt his breath hitch when he realized that Hannah wasn't just some girl with a little girl crush on him. The things she said and the way she looked at him… this was different. She cared about him.

She _cared_ about _him_. They way he'd always wished that Beth would, but never could.

So, he kissed her.

The way it felt when his lips crashed clumsily against hers was nothing like what Hannah had pictured. He gripped onto both of her arms, holding her still as he kissed her. Hannah was devastated that she was so nervous she couldn't enjoy it like she'd always dreamed. When his lips broke from hers, Hannah snapped back because it had all been so sudden and unexpected. Her lips stung from the rush of it all. She just looked up at him with big, confused eyes as she soothed her lips with her fingertips. Mike took a step back, a look of horror on his face.

"Hann, oh my God, I'm so sorry I should not have done that-" Hannah was still in too much shock to say anything. "I just… we've been drinking and you said such nice - well, actually some of what you said was mean, but in the end it was really nice and I just… I got caught up in the moment," he explained. Still, Hannah couldn't bring herself to say anything to him. "Hannah, please don't be mad, I am such a-"

"Whaaat's goin' on, guys?" Mike and Hannah turned to see Jess slinking out the backdoor. She looked Hannah up and down once before her eyes fell to Mike, a fake smile appearing then, "DidI interrupt something?" She asked cattily.

Hannah wasn't as naive as she looked sometimes. She knew when someone was silently judging her or being secretly mean. It was a talent she inherited with her insecurity and lack of social prowess over the years. She crossed her arms and shook her head, but she knew she looked guilty. She hated that such an important moment was snatched away from her so fast because of stupid Jessica butting in.

"Nope. Uh… no. No I was just comin' inside," Mike said, hitting his fists together nervously. The two knew if they didn't get it together they were going to give themselves away.

"Yeah, you should. The ball's about to drop! And Emily's ready to make up now."

"What? Are you her personal assistant, now?" Mike snorted, glancing back at Hannah to see if she was laughing too. She broke a small grin but it faded as quickly as it came and Mike's laughing ceased. Jessica wasn't laughing at all. "Er… right. Okay." Mike stepped forward as Jess held the door open for him. He turned back to Hannah one more time, and of all things, he saluted her as he said, "Hannah…"

He followed Jess inside, and Hannah stood dumbfounded on the porch. She was now trying to figure out if she was the happiest or saddest she'd ever been.

* * *

 

Beth scanned the room looking for Sam - liquid courage swirling around in her brain was pushing her forward. This year was going to be different - she couldn't keep scolding Hannah over her crush on Mike when she wasn't following her own advice. She'd tried to convince herself that her feelings for Sam could be classified as just a simple crush, but she was going on three years now and the feelings hadn't subsided. The only difference was the fact that she hadn't been as obvious as her love-sick sister.

But tonight she was going to make a move. She didn't know if Sam would reciprocate or if she even slightly felt the same way as her, but she didn't want to spend the rest of her life wondering. And maybe Sam did like Josh… but how was she supposed to make an educated decision without all the facts? Beth _had_ to know if there was even the slightest possibility.

She finally spotted Sam, who was semi-crouched beside her mother's ficus plant, looking worried and slightly out of place. She sucked in a breath and neared her, just hoping she wouldn't lose her nerve.

"Whyyy are you hiding out behind that plant?" Beth giggled, sneaking up on Sam. Sam laughed at herself, nodding off in Josh's direction.

"I'm hiding from your crazy brother before he can start talking to me about New Year's Eve kisses again…" Sam informed her, and Beth just snorted, shaking her head. "He's pretty drunk right now…"

"Sounds like my brother…" she commented before giving Sam a sly smile as she realized that this was a perfect opportunity. Beth shrugged, "I'll be your New Year's Eve kiss… if you want. That way you don't have to kiss Josh."

Sam did a double-take to Beth, wondering if it was some kind of joke, "Well..I mean, as long as he doesn't find me over here, I don't have to worry about it anyway…"

"True. But they say it's bad luck to enter a new year without a kiss."

Giving a short laugh, Sam raised an eyebrow, "You don't really believe that, do you?"

"No," Beth admitted, leaning her shoulder against the wall and taking a sip of her drink, "Just thought it would be nice to have someone to ring in the new year with. What if this is our last, you know?"

"Don't get too dark on me," Sam said with an uneasy chuckle.  
Beth grinned and waved her last comment off, "Sorry, I'm just trying my best to talk you into it."

Sam met Beth's gaze right as the loud _TEN, NINE, EIGHT_ countdown began.

"I think it might be working," Sam pressed her back against the wall beside Beth, a shy smile peeking out, unable to be contained. And Beth felt like she could hardly contain herself. With the countdown nearing one, and the alcohol swimming in her brain, and thinking about how long she's actually wanted this, Beth dropped her drink then cupped Sam's face before deeply kissing her. She shivered when she thought she heard a small murmur emit from Sam's throat.

But it ended all too soon as Sam pulled away then looked down between them, very aware of all the celebratory yells around them. Beth stepped away from her, knowing that they both needed their space, at least for the moment.

Sam looked over to make sure Josh didn't see what just happened, but was glad when she saw Chris with his arms around Josh and Hannah, the three swaying as if they were in their own little world.

* * *

 

_**January 1st, 2014 - New Year's Day** _

"Mike kissed me."

Beth hardly had a chance to crawl into her bed before Hannah was right beside her with this confession. She was almost certain she heard her sister wrong. She could only stare blankly into Hannah's large bright eyes; the excitement radiating from her made Beth concerned that she was about to flash an engagement ring.

It was too late for this-or rather-too early. It was almost five in the morning, but the last of the random guests left only about an hour ago, while some of their closer friends found their normal guest bedrooms to crash for the next several hours. And Beth may have been mistaken, but she was fairly certain she saw Mike and Emily making out in the hallway before disappearing behind a closed door.

"Um...where?" Beth had to cringe when she asked this. But knowing Hannah, Mike could have kissed her on her hand or her cheek and she would still flip out.

"What do you mean _where?"_ Hannah couldn't even sound insulted through her infectious smile, "He grabbed me and _kissed me. ...HARD."_

Beth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Everything inside of her wanted to be happy for Hannah, but instead, she was feeling the guilt of having to burst her bubble and a disgust she had never felt for Mike was rising in the back of her throat.

"He has a girlfriend, Hann…"

Beth opened her eyes when Hannah grabbed her by the arm, "No, no, no, you don't understand! They were fighting earlier and then he came to me and-."

"Mike and Emily _always_ fight. And they _always_ make up. Just because they were fighting earlier doesn't mean they broke up."

Hannah shook her head; she was getting frustrated. All she wanted was for Beth to see the situation through her eyes for once. "But you didn't see the way he looked at me before he kissed me. Like...like he _finally_ saw _me_ for the very first time."

Beth's eyes softened into concern. All of Hannah's hope and happiness seemed to be riding on the thought that Mike was going to leave Emily for her. But Beth knew Mike better than anyone. She knew he loved Emily in his own way and wasn't going to break up with her. Not for Hannah. And now she wasn't sure if she was glad Hannah didn't see them at the end of the night or not. It would have certainly given her a wake up call.

And Mike had to have known that Hannah would tell her what he did. And if he was expecting her to break Hannah's heart just so he wouldn't have to, he had another thing coming.

So as soon as she convinced Hannah to take a shower and get some sleep, Beth was trudging her way to the guest bedroom where Mike and Emily were. She didn't even bother knocking before entering. The sunrise was barely peeking through the curtains, but it let in enough light to see them both in bed and obviously naked.

Emily was covered, but seeing her bare shoulder was enough for Beth. The blanket was only covering Mike's thighs and she couldn't have been more happy that he was sleeping on his stomach.

She leaned down beside him and began tapping his cheek repeatedly to wake him up, trying to keep her angered voice low enough to not disturb Emily, "Mike, wake up." The most she got was a groan; she could only imagine how drunk he still was if he only fell asleep a little bit ago. But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting him sleep it off.

Beth knew one of his most sensitive spots was his underarm right below his armpit. She pinched him as hard as she could.

He instantly jumped, his bloodshot eyes staring directly through her, "Fucking sloth dicks on a plane- _OW!"_

"Wake the fuck up, Mike," Beth said with a straight face, too upset to even laugh at his pain. Mike caught onto it quickly despite just being woken up brutally and all of his guilt came flooding back. He sighed heavily and nodded, silently telling her that he would get up and talk. She threw his jeans on his face before saying she'd be in her bedroom waiting for him.

He felt like he was floating heavily through a real life nightmare and the two juxtapositions were making him feel queasy. He couldn't find where Emily threw his shirt and he didn't have the energy to search for it so let it be.

Mike didn't know that Emily had been awake since the moment Beth walked into the room.

He didn't even have time to get his thoughts together before he was standing in front of his best friend who was looking at him like he was scum.

"What the fuck are you doing, Mike? You do realize that you're fucking with _my sister,_ right?"

Running his hand through his drunken sex bed hair, he averted his eyes from her, "I didn't mean to do that, it was a m-."

"Really? _That's_ the cliche excuse you're going with? You do realize I hate you right now, right?"

"Beth, Jesus _Christ,_ there's no good words that I know for this! My brain is just saying _habagloobydooba_ but I'm trying to give you something better!"

"You're not a cheater, Mike, so I don't-."

He shook his head and dropped to her bed, sitting on the edge and holding his head, "How could you possibly know that? I've only dated Emily since I met you and that's only because I can't-."

"Stop." Beth interrupted before he could finish that thought, "You're dating Emily because you _like_ her. You wouldn't have been with her this long if you didn't." She gave Mike a chance to disagree with her, but when he didn't, she concluded with, "Which is why you need to tell Hannah that you're a jerk and shouldn't have led her on."

Beth wished she could have kept it at that. Mike gave a single head nod in agreement, so she could have sent him on his way. Instead, she found herself sitting next to him and asking, "I mean, what possessed you to kiss her anyway? Never _once_ have you showed any interest in her."

Mike still couldn't look at her. His world was spinning from everything he put himself through that night, but he couldn't help but remember his conversation with Hannah before he kissed her. How she called him out for not being happy, how he told her his relationship with Emily was only for show. How she started describing all of his imperfections that actually made him great and how she looked at him with stars in her eyes and _goddammit_ she looked just like Beth…

"I did apologize to her right after I did it," he confessed, "said I shouldn't have done it…"

"Yeah, well...Hannah made it seem like you two just got hitched. You have to be sensitive to how much she likes you…"

He held his breath for a long moment before letting it out in a soft and ironic chuckle, "I understand completely."

Beth bit her lip. She wanted to tell Mike what happened to _her_ that night as well, but was trying to follow her own advice about being sensitive to his feelings. But she didn't have to internally fight with herself much longer when Mike looked over at her and said, "You have something you want to tell me."

She immediately broke out into a contagious smile, and Mike knew what she was going to say. But he didn't want to say it for her. He wanted to see how bright her face lit up when she said it.

"I kissed Sam," Beth admitted in a loud whisper, her knuckles covering her mouth as if saying it aloud was too much goodness for the world to handle. But her smile radiated off of her and Mike saw stars shining in her midnight eyes for the very first time.

"I've never seen you like this," he said. ' _So happy. In love. Why not with me?'_ "I'm so happy for you," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple, "But, of course, now you know you have to give me every little detail."

* * *

 

 _ **January 4th, 2014**_  
"I want to talk about New Year's Eve," Emily said bluntly over breakfast. It had been a few days since, and while Mike had known Emily was stewing on something, he'd chose to ignore it and hope it was just her time of the month, or something.

Mike chewed on his toast, his eyes unable to meet hers as he said, "okay… what about New Year's Eve?"

"Oh, I don't know… maybe about how what happened that night was bullshit?"

Mike could already tell this was about to turn into an argument. Possibly a breakup. His whole body tensed knowing that she somehow found out that he kissed Hannah. And his brain spun with all the different excuses he could come up with that would make her believe that it honestly was a mistake.

"Em...I just want you to know that-."

"I know, I know, Beth's your _best friend._ I fucking get it."

Mike paused then and looked at her, trying to figure out what Beth had to do with him kissing Hannah.

"But her pulling you out of our bed after we _just_ got done having sex is a little too weird for me. Like, what's she trying to get at?"

Mike let out a long breath of relief, even though his guilty conscious was still telling him that he wasn't off the hook yet. Emily didn't know about Hannah, but that didn't mean that Hannah and Beth didn't know. And that Jess _might_ know.

"She just had something she needed to tell me," Mike excused, and to him, it should have been dropped after that. But Emily wasn't ready to let it go this time around.

"Oh, and pray tell, what could be _sooo_ important that she had to drag your naked ass out of bed and not wait until morning?"

"Just…" Mike trailed off when he recalled the reason Beth scolded him, "Just something between us, is all."

Emily laughed sarcastically, "If you were trying to curb my suspicions, you used piss-poor wording, Michael."

He groaned, "Emily, do we really have to start fighting again? It's happening all the time lately. I'm sick of it." He dropped to the couch and rubbed his face. 2014 was already starting off to be an awful year, and it was only day four. What could the rest of the year bring?

"We're not fighting," Emily countered, sitting down next to him, "But if you are trying to tell me that something happened between you and Beth, then you better spit it out _right now_ or I swear, I'll-."

"It's not like that!" Mike interrupted, "Jesus, when did you start becoming so jealous? You were never like this before. Makes me miss when you were just…"

Emily pursed her lips, waiting for him to finish his sentence, "Just what?"

Mike sighed loudly, "Nothing, just...you're getting really…"

"I just want to know if you're fucking around with Beth behind my back!" Emily finally shouted, tired of going in circles with him

Mike's face went red, but not in embarrassment, but in anger, "I would _never_ do that to either of you, but _Jesus fucking cake-shits,_ Emily I already told you that nothing like that is between Beth and I, we play for the same team!"

Mike went still when he realized what he said, covering his face again.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Emily asked with heightened curiosity.

He tried to wave her off, "Nothing, just for-."

"Beth's a lesbian? _Really?"_ Emily went silent for a moment to see how Mike would try to counter it, but he only sighed in defeat and hung his head between his knees.

Finally, he mumbled, "Do you fucking feel better now? ...Please, Em...please don't say anything. I swore to Beth that she could trust me…"

"I won't," Emily said, actually feeling better now that her main concern turned out to be impossible.

Which is why when Jessica started talking to her about Beth and Mike again a few days later, Emily let the conversation roll right off her.

"Did you see the way Beth put her arms around your man?" Jessica asked Emily as they sat at the only nail salon on campus getting pedicures.

"I'm not worried," Emily tried to push her off, even though she noticed that Jessica was picking up on every little thing that happened between Mike and Beth, and it was starting to annoy her.

Jessica shook her head, "I really think you should be. He _always_ takes her side, and that's not good, girl."

Emily had been thinking hard about it, and she really didn't wanted to tell Jess the secret she swore she would keep, but it would be the only way that Jess would stop believing that Mike as cheating with Beth. She wanted to not worry about it, after all, she trusted Mike and that should be all that matters. But Jessica was a good friend, so she should trust her too, right?

"If I tell you something, you gotta promise not to say a word," Emily looked straight at her.

"Cross my heart and hope to die!" Jessica confirmed very enthusiastically.

Sighing, Emily thought about it for only a second more before spilling, "Beth likes girls."

Jess's eyes only went wide for a moment before she said, "Well that explains why she wanted to kiss me so badly last year…"

Emily narrowed her eyes and thought back, sure that's not really how events went down, but didn't bother arguing with the blonde. "Yeah, so...that's why I'm not worried about what she does with Mike."

Jessica went silent, seemingly in deep thought.

"I didn't want to say anything…" Jess began like she regretted having to say it, "But it's not Beth you ever had to worry about...it's Hannah."

Emily laughed out loud, looking at Jess like she was crazy, "Are you serious? I mean, I know Hannah has a crush on Mike - _everyone_ knows that - but to be _worried_ about her? Really?"

"She was _all_ up on him on New Year's Eve...I think she may have even threw herself on him and kissed him outside on the porch."

Trying to keep her guard up, Emily asked, "W-wait… _What?_ ...Why didn't you say anything before, then?"

Jess shrugged matter-of-factly, "I was giving Hannah a chance to come clean with you. Ya know...she's our friend, she should confess and apologize. It's only the right thing to do...unless, ya know...she's _not_ sorry about it."

Emily remained silent. Hannah had never really bothered her before, but if what Jess said was true, and she really did kiss Mike (or even _tried_ to)...well, that just wasn't cool. And what made it worse was that Emily's prior view on Hannah, thinking she was just a sweet little naive girl with a crush, disappeared to be replaced with a boyfriend-stealing bitch who only _pretended_ to be innocent. And there was nothing Emily hated more than a two-faced, backstabbing hussy.

Jess watched closely as Emily's face transformed. She leaned over to her, "I think we need to stop this now before it gets any further. Teach Hannah a lesson that she won't forget."

Without missing a beat, Emily replied, "What'd you have in mind?"

* * *

 

_**February 2014 - The Night Beth and Hannah Went Missing** _

Everyone was on edge this year. Something was just… _off._

Different.

No amount of alcohol seemed to shift the air, which is probably why they'd drank so much. Emily and Jess were connected at the hip it seemed, quietly conversing only between the two of them. Chris seemed irked by Ashley's constant close proximity to Matt all night, so he was matching Josh shot-for-shot.

Beth spent the night shooting glances at Sam as she went around the kitchen cleaning up their party mess. She had been desperately wanting a moment alone with her so she could talk to her about New Year's but never really getting the opportunity. The morning after their New Year's kiss, Beth went to find Sam, only to find that she'd left early. She had gone home to say her goodbyes, and headed back to college not long after. Since then, Beth had drafted a text to her about a dozen times, but hadn't found the courage to ever press send.

"You'll never know unless you just go talk to her," Mike said quietly into Beth's ear. She blindly swiped her hand at him the same way she would swat away an annoying mosquito.

"Quit it," she grunted, slightly annoyed. She wasn't very good with her emotions, especially when she was nervous, and Mike wasn't helping the situation. Mike poked her in the side.

"Oh, c'mon. Don't be grumpy, I'm just trying to help," Mike offered, and Beth just gave him a nonchalant shrug.

"I'm over it."

"Oh, yeah, you seem like you're over it."

"Have you ever met someone so… aloof?" Beth wondered and the two of them watched as Sam read her book over on the couch, seemingly unaware of anything going on around her. "How could she not know?"

"You're not necessarily an open book, ya know. She doesn't even know you're gay-" Mike said lowly, and Beth snorted, shaking her head.

"Oh, she knows. She has to know. She just… likes someone else…" her words trailed off sadly and she didn't have to look at her passed out brother for Mike to connect the dots.

" _Ha!_ Fat chance. Sam is way too smart and mature to be into your dorky brother."

"You'd be surprised…" Beth mumbled.

"What do you think those two are up to?" Mike asked, cocking his head toward a whispering Emily and Jess. Beth just scoffed and shook her head, continuing to collect the empty bottles around the kitchen.

"Probably nothing good," she grumbled. Mike sighed, taking the trash bag out of Beth's hands and setting it down on the ground. He took her by the shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes.

"Beth. You need to just suck it up and talk to her. This has really gone on long enough. Who knows, maybe she feels the same-"

"Yeah, well, maybe she doesn't-" Beth countered. Mike gave her a half shrug.

"Okay. And maybe she doesn't. So… then you get to move on, you know? But letting it eat you up and make you miserable is not the answer, either. C'mon. You know better." Beth smirked - her best friend was right. She had no idea that feelings could cloud logical judgement so much. No wonder Hannah was always such a mess.

Suddenly, Beth turned to Mike seriously, "oh, hey. By the way. Have you had a chance to set things right with Hannah, yet? She's been really excited about this weekend and… I'm just afraid she thinks things are going to happen between you two and-"

"Uhhh…" Mike began, realizing that, no. He hadn't. And he had definitely noticed Hannah trying to catch eyes with him since he and Emily had gotten there. He'd been steadily avoiding her since their arrival, and with Emily barely leaving his side he hadn't had the chance.

"Oh, Mikey!" Jess called from the other side of the kitchen, beckoning him with a finger. He saw that Matt, Emily and Ashley had convened behind her and were trying to get his attention. "Can you come here for a moment?" she asked sweetly, but he could definitely pick out something sinister under it all.

"Great… what's this?" he said under his breath, but he was relieved that it bought him some time before he had to answer Beth about Hannah.

He turned to Beth one more time before he left her, "You're the greatest person I know, Beth. If she doesn't feel the same, it's her loss. But life is short. Don't live it with regrets, okay?"

"Okay," she said barely above a whisper, then mouthed, "love you." Mike winked at her before he turned to go talk to the eagerly awaiting group. He hoped he got through to her. He couldn't wait to get the details from her, later.

Beth sucked in a deep breath for good luck and then walked over to Sam, plopping down on the couch next to her, "You doing okay over here?"

Sam rabbit-eared the page she was on and closed the book, adjusting the sleeves of her sweater, "Yeah, just taking a little down time. Does it feel a little...I dunno, weird to you this year?"

Beth moaned in agreement, "Yes! I don't know if it's because of what happened last year, but I really wish Josh decided on something else this time around."

Sam gave a small shrug, playing with the edges of her book. Beth watched her for a moment, trying not to think too hard about what she wanted to say. So she blurted out, "It feels like New Years was forever ago - and I missed you."

Looking at Beth from the side, Sam wasn't sure how to respond. She wondered if Beth remembered what happened. Or if it meant nothing to her, and if it should in turn mean nothing to Sam. Sam licked her lips before speaking, "I know, I can't believe it's February already. Being away at college makes me miss everyone, too."

Beth closed her eyes and shook her head, "I'm not talking about everyone else though. Sam, I have to ask...did you - _feel_ \- anything? On New Years? With me?"

Sam bit her thumbnail. She watched as Beth slowly opened her eyes, and it was clear that it took every ounce of bravery in her to ask that. "I...I don't know. Did you?"

"Yes," Beth answered, leaning her head on the back of the couch, feeling both excited and exhausted, "It's been running through my head all month."

"Oh…" Sam trailed off, not sure what to say, but not really feeling uncomfortable or awkward, "I really...don't know how to respond to that right now, Beth." Beth opened her mouth to respond, to tell her it was okay, but then Sam went on, "Except that - I've been thinking about it a lot, too."

Color lit up Beth's face when she smiled, "Really? Because I think…"

Sam caught sight of the rest of the group at the other end of the room and narrowed her eyes at how mischievous most of them looked. She looked around for Hannah but didn't see her. She didn't even notice when she interrupted Beth by standing up and saying, "Hey, I think I'm going to check on Hannah… I haven't seen her in awhile and I'm getting a little worried, what with her back on her Mike kick and all-"

"Was she ever _really_ off?" Beth teased. Sam snorted, shaking her head.

"No, I guess not." Sam stood, giving a brief stretch. "I'll be right back. And we can finish talking about… what we were talking about."

"Oh...okay…" Beth watched her walk around the couch, but then didn't follow her any further. Her heart was pounding hard in her ears. She couldn't believe she had just admitted all that to Sam and then she just walked away. She absently went over to the sink full of dirty dishes and looked outside at all the snow. She tried to keep her optimism up. Sam did say she would be right back...

"Alright. What's up," Mike asked, approaching his drunken friends. Jess smiled evilly, simply handing over a torn piece of paper with a note scribbled across it:

_Hannah,_

_You look so damn hot in that shirt… but I bet you look even hotter out of it. Come to the guest room at 2:00 am._

_-Mike XXX_

Mike read the note twice, just to be sure he was actually reading it right. His gaze flitted up to all their glistening, mischievous eyes.

"What the fuck is this?" he asked them quietly. Matt hiccuped out a laugh and Ashley giggled beside him. Mike's eyes then met Emily's dark ones - there was something even darker in them, now. He knew she and Jess had planned this all along.

"Em? Are you serious with this shit?" Mike asked only her, hoping he could get through to her. For a moment she looked unsure, and then Jess reached up and slipped the paper from Mike's hands, folding the note in half.

"It's just a little prank, no harm-" Jess explained. Mike felt anger flare within him as he ran his hand through his hair, just hoping that Beth couldn't hear the conversation. Luckily when he searched for her across the room she was sitting close to Sam talking quietly - hopefully telling her how she felt like he'd suggested.

"C'mon, babe. It'll be funny-" Emily offered.

Jess pointed to Matt and Ashley, "Go set up." She pressed a hand to her hip when her two little minions went off to do their part.

"We're not doing this," Mike told them seriously.

"Oh, we're _not?_ " Jess asked with feigned innocence, her eyes large blinking as she tilted her head to the side, "Because it would be a shame if your _bff_ found out that you let her dirty little secret out."

"What…?" Mike breathed out, feeling his heart plummet to his stomach, a sickness rising in the back of his throat. He turned to Emily, an unreadable expression in his eyes, "You told Jess?" Emily's first instinct was to apologize - Mike had trusted her and she broke that. Instead, she felt defensive. Sure, she told Jess. But more importantly, he _didn't_ tell her about whatever happened with Hannah on New Year's Eve. Maybe there was no more trust in their relationship, anyways.

"Okay, yeah. I did," Emily admitted. "But maybe you should have told me about your little date with Hannah on their porch on New Year's." Mike's face grew hot as he remembered the inappropriate kiss that got him into this mess in the first place, and the sole possible witness to that night. His eyes flitted to Jess, who gave a careless shrug.

"It doesn't matter that she told _me_ about Beth," Jess steered, "What matters is that _you_ told. And we're sick of Hannah fawning all over you, and you leading her on. It's annoying, it's unfair to Hannah _and_ Emily."

"So… th-this is blackmail, then?" Mike stammered, running his hands through his hair exasperatedly. Did he choose to protect Hannah from a cruel prank, or did he choose to protect Beth from having her biggest secret spilled out in the open for all the world to see? The girl who had been madly in love with him for as long as he could remember, or the girl he'd been madly in love with for just as long? He was starting to feel as though he had no choice, at this point.

"Tick-tock!" Jess sing-sang, "Hannah already read the note, She's probably off getting herself all _pretty_ for you now."

Mike's head was reeling, his stomach sick with the fear of losing his best friend because of his big mouth, "Just… stop. Just give me a minute to think. I'll take care of this, I'll talk to Hannah-"

"You kinda had your chance to do that, Mike," Emily said, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at his girlfriend - who was this person? He didn't even recognize her anymore. He felt every ounce of love he'd ever had for Emily drain from him as she said, "It's not that big of a deal. She'll get over it, we'll all have a laugh, and your precious secret about Beth will remain locked away until she decides to let it out of the bag-"

"Or closet!" Jess laughed, covering her mouth with her hand and looking quite pleased with herself over the joke.

Just then Sam came over to the group then snatched the note out of Jessica's hand. Everyone was staring at it, so it was safe to assume whatever they were planning had something to do with what was written. She shook her head as her eyes skimmed the words. Jessica snatched the note back and set it on the counter.

"Let's do this," Jessica said simply.

Emily seemed to get momentarily excited in a nervous fashion, "Oh my god! I can't believe you actually did this."

She was just a little too loud for Jess, and she didn't want Beth coming over and ruining the whole thing before it even got started, "Shh...shh...shhh!"

"Don't you guys think this is a little bit cruel?" Sam asked as calmly as she could, even though anger was flaring through her. She knew how much her group of friends loved playing pranks on each other, but she also knew how sensitive Hannah was.

"Oh, come on, she deserves it!" Jessica argued - Sam knew immediately that somehow word had gotten out about Hannah and Mike's kiss on New Year's. And now Hannah was caught in Jess and Emily's crosshairs.

Sam's eyes curved in concern. This was more than just a prank. This was sounding like some sort of revenge mission, even though Sam couldn't guess Jessica's motivation. "It's not her fault she has a huge crush on Mike-" Her words were like acid on Mike's skin - it wasn't her fault she had a crush on Mike. This wasn't anyone else's fault.

Jessica waved her off, turning and skipping off. She didn't have time to deal with Sam's goody-two-shoes act, "Hannah's been making moves on him. I'm just looking out for my girl, Em!"

Emily and Mike started to follow her, and Sam walked with them, hoping to somehow get all of them to back down.

"Just because he was class Prez, doesn't mean he belongs to everyone," Emily smirked, getting even more comfortably into the character that Jess placed on her, "Mike is _my_ man."

Mike followed mindlessly, his anger almost blinding him, but he felt trapped and he wasn't sure which way was right and which was wrong. He couldn't even imagine what it would do to his friendship with Beth if she found out that he blabbed her secret to Emily, who then passed it on to Jess. "Hey Em? I'm not _anybody's man."_

He was _done_ with her.

He regretted not getting a chance to talk to Hannah and setting things straight more than ever. This was completely the wrong way to tell Hannah to back off… especially when _he_ was the one that kissed _her_.

"Whatever you say, darling!" Emily sang in a way that just infuriated him even more. She really was starting to sound and act like Jess, and he absolutely hated it.

Sam looked at Mike, hoping he would do the right thing and stop this. But he looked absent; like he was too conflicted to make any sort of decision on his own. She was going to have to find out the details later, but at that moment, she _had_ to find Hannah.  
If Mike wasn't going to end this, she would.

Beth jumped when she saw someone running outside in the snow, "Hey, did you see that? Dad said it'd just be us this weekend." She turned around only to then remember Josh was passed out. Still, the figure outside was concerning. She went around the island, shaking her head at Josh and Chris, before spotting a note on the edge of the counter.

Curiously, she turned it over and read the note to Hannah. Instantly, she knew the handwriting was not Mike's, despite his name being forged at the bottom. She didn't have time to fully process the repercussions if Hannah already saw the letter before she saw someone run past the window outside again, this time much closer.

"Fuck!" She ran out to the living room, "Guys, there's someone outside!" But then she saw all of her friends run to the open front door and her panic heightened, "What the hell…?"

She grabbed her jacket when she heard all of them calling for Hannah. _Hannah_ ran outside? Into the storm and with some creep hanging around the lodge? Beth rushed outside, her mind not focusing on what the others were saying. So she turned straight to Mike and asked, "What did you _do?"_

"We were just messing around, Beth...it wasn't serious-," Mike hated how indifferent his tone was. Truth was, he despised himself and everything that he did since the beginning of the year: kissing Hannah, not clearing the air with Hannah after Beth asked him to, telling Emily Beth's secret, going along with Jessica's stupid idea of a prank…

He was the worst kind of scum and maybe it was better off if Beth hated him, too.

Beth felt a lump in her throat at the aloofness Mike presented. _He knew better!_ But even still, she couldn't single him out as she yelled at all of them, "You _JERKS!"_ She didn't have time to come up with the insults they deserved. She would deal with them once she calmed Hannah down and brought her back to the lodge.

Mike turned to Sam, now completely detached from everything. "So...should we go after her?" He meant go after Beth - he was trying to make a joke about how Sam could be her _Princess in Shining Armor_ and rescue her from the cold and windy night.

But, like most things, Sam didn't pick up on the awful joke; "Y'know, I kinda think you're the _last_ person she wants to see right now, Mike."

Mike couldn't have agreed more. But he wanted to forget everything. He was ready to drink himself into a blackout like Chris and Josh did - they had the right idea from the beginning of the night.

Mike realized, standing on the porch and watching Beth disappear into the snowy distance, that by choosing to hurt Hannah, he'd hurt Beth anyway. He might have kept her secret safe (or as safe as it would ever be, given that Emily and Jess knew) but there was a very real chance that Beth would come back and tell him she never wants to see him again. The thought of living his life without her in it was too much to think about.

He chose wrong… and yet he was doomed no matter _what_ he chose.

He went back inside the lodge, shoving Emily off of him when she tried to reach for his arm. He saw the fear in her eyes as he stared at her with pure hatred, but it didn't matter. She could cry on Jess's shoulder all night. He just wanted to sleep and never wake up until all this shit passed.

One thing was for sure: Mike knew he had a lot of making up to do the next time he saw Hannah and Beth.

* * *

_To Be Continued..._


End file.
